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Weill Cornell Medical College & GHESKIO

The new GHESKIO Laboratiore Rodolphe Mérieux

The Weill Cornell program in Haiti began in 1980 with the establishment of a unit for the study and treatment of infantile diarrhea at the State University Hospital and Medical School. This program was very successful, with in-hospital mortality reduced from 40% to 1%. The Weill Cornell team began its AIDS research in 1982 and was instrumental in the formation of Groupe Haitien d'Etude du Sarcome de Kaposi et des Infections Opportunistes (GHESKIO).

Since 1983, Cornell and GHESKIO have had uninterrupted NIH support, resulting in over 65 publications, including the first detailed description of AIDS in a developing country (NEJM, 1983). In addition to the established AIDS program, Weill Cornell-GHESKIO provides STD and tuberculosis screening and treatment, as well as family planning, health education, and counseling programs to ~28,000 persons annually. Weill Cornell-GHESKIO also conducts NIH-sponsored HIV vaccine and ART clinical trials . Presently, one senior medical student (Peter Bendix) is conducting advanced research in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

GHESKIO is a Haitian non-governmental organization dedicated to providing clinical service, conducting research, and offering training in HIV/AIDS and related diseases. Working in partnership with the Haitian Government, GHESKIO provides integrated primary-care services, including HIV prevention, AIDS care, prenatal care, and management of tuberculosis and sexually transmitted infections. Through the conduct of research, GHESKIO defines HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention models for Haiti. Through training, GHESKIO expands these models to the national level.

GHESKIO Director Dr. William Pape

In February 2009, GHESKIO opened a new Institute for Infectious Diseases and Reproductive Health. GHESKIO's director, Dr. William Pape, stated "the Haitian private sector provided the funding for the 8 acres property near the International airport. The large and modern clinical facility was funded by USAID and equipped by PEPFAR. The top-of-the-line laboratory which will include P2+ and P3 facilities was supported by Agence Française de Developpement, the French USAID counterpart, and equipped by the Mérieux Foundation. The laboratory will be dedicated to the memory of Rodolphe Mérieux, the son of Alain Mérieux who died tragically in a plane crash. Alain Mérieux, President of bioMerieux (# 1 medical diagnostic company in Europe) and chair of the Mérieux Foundation was in Haiti for the inauguration ceremony along with the French and US ambassadors. The clinical facility was dedicated to Dr Warren D. Johnson Jr. for his long-term support and dedication to GHESKIO and the people of Haiti." Dr. Pape believes that this is the first time the private and public sectors of France and the US have planned and carried out together such a project in the Americas.