Fundacion Mir

• Español

  

Casa de Paz

Over 35,000 children and adolescent boys and girls turn to prostitution as a means of producing income in the Dominican Republic each year. At Casa de Paz, these young people receive life-altering care including AIDS testing and treatment, psychological counseling and job training.

Casa de Paz also maintains an on-going collaboration with Columbia University and Conecta. The partnership seeks to continually address health issues and build a new AIDS family clinic allowing Casa de Paz to expand its current services.

Casa de Paz is aware that caring for illness means much more than treating the symptoms. As such, this organization is committed to treat social and physical illness before it starts by providing educational opportunities to at-risk populations via a variety of organizations housed within the Fundación MIR.

Accomplishments Casa de Paz

• • Material and emotional support was provided to 315 individuals diagnosed as HIV positive and/or with AIDS
• • 350 women and 25 minors were rescued from prostitution and integrated into the re-education program; 315 were integrated into work.
• • Approximately 125 children receive elementary education.
• • Infant care halls host children whose ages range from 3 months to 6 years old.
• • 200 children and young people that work and are trained at the Micaeliano Complex receive breakfast and lunch on a daily basis.

La Romana Family AIDS Clinic

1. The Prevention of Mother-to-Baby HIV Transmission Program (started in 1999) provided the first AIDS drugs to pregnant HIV-infected women in the Dominican Republic. This program has:

• Increased the identification of pregnant HIV-infected women from 30% to 82% over the past 2 years (nationally, the rate is 25%).

• Reduced mother-to-baby HIV transmission from 40% (the rate if there is no intervention) to 3% (nationally the rate is 15.1%).

2. The La Romana Family AIDS Clinic was one of the first centers in the country to begin providing anti-retroviral therapy (ART) to children and adults (started in 2004). The program:

• Provides free comprehensive and HIV-specialized care for all HIV-infected members of the family.

• Opened a new 2-story clinic in early 2006.

• Provides outpatient, community, home, urban and regional care.

• Has initiatives to improve nutrition, provide clean water, and assist through micro-credit loans

•Ranks second in the nation in the number of HIV-infected adults receiving ART and second in the nation in the number of children receiving ART, according to the D.R. Ministry of Health.

3. Casa Columbia: Education, Training and Technical AssistancePrograms for Americans and Dominicans (started in 1999):

• Provides rotations for medical and public health students and physician residents in pediatrics, internal medicine, and family practice. Over 500 Dominican policy makers, health care providers, residents and students have participated in AIDS-related rotations and seminars since 1999

• Has worked in cooperation with the Clinton HIV/AIDS Initiative since 2004.

4. The Dominican AIDS Research Consortium supports the research capability of the host country with the aim to improve the quality of care being provided to HIV-infected children and adults.

The Columbia University International Family AIDS Program (IFAP) was established in 1999 to use the lessons learned in the war against AIDS in New York City and to apply them to resource-poor areas of the world, with the goals of preventing HIV infection and ensuring high-quality treatment of children and adults with AIDS. IFAP was founded by Dr. Stephen Nicholas, Professor of Pediatrics and Public Health at Columbia University, who founded the pediatric AIDS program at Harlem Hospital Center in 1985; co-founded the Incarnation Children’s Center, New York’s first residence for children with HIV/AIDS; was Chairman of Pediatrics at Harlem Hospital 2000-2006; and is currently a Fulbright Scholar in the Dominican Republic.

Accomplishments La Romana Family AIDS Clinic

• • Increased the identification of pregnant HIV-infected women from 30% to 82% over the past 2 years (nationally, the rate is 25%).
• • Reduced mother-to-baby HIV transmission from 40% (the rate if there is no intervention) to 3% (nationally the rate is 15.1%).
• • Opened a new 2-story clinic in early 2006.
• • Ranks second in the nation in the number of HIV-infected adults receiving ART and second in the nation in the number of children receiving ART, according to the D.R. Ministry of Health.
• • Has worked in cooperation with the Clinton HIV/AIDS Initiative since 2004.