We can

It's Race for Grace time again. Join me in supporting this worthy cause!

Hello everyone. The heat is on and this means it is again time to fundraise for Grace Children's Hospital in Haiti. I'll be braving the extreme Texas temperatures at the Hotter 'N Hell cycling rally in Wichita Falls on Saturday, 8/23 (the high on ride day is expected to be around 95°+) to support this wonderful organization, which continues to serve the poorest of the poor in Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas despite ongoing gang violence and recent funding cuts. This year, in particular, it is important to stand up and raise awareness on the importance of global health, ensuring care continues uninterrupted to curb the spread of disease despite current challenges.

Global health protects the well-being of us all by addressing health risks that transcend national borders. In particular, GCH has been instrumental in helping to treat and control diseases such as tuberculosis (TB) and human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV/AIDS). In 2016, Grace was selected by Haiti's Ministry of Health (MSPP) to provide outpatient care as a center for Outpatient Management of Resistant TB, which continues to be a serious problem. It's important to note that TB cases are not confined to developing countries, with TB cases increasing in the U.S. since 2020 (in 2023, the United States reported 9,633 cases of TB disease). Although the U.S. had set a goal to eliminate TB by 2010, this was sadly never achieved. The late 1980s and 1990s saw a resurgence, which was thought to be fueled by the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

Along with TB, Haiti also has the highest incidence of HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean region (In 2003, UNAIDS estimated Haiti’s adult HIV prevalence at 5.6%, the highest in the Western Hemisphere). One way to manage this and prevent spread of HIV/AIDS is expanding access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) while also implementing prevention programs. If HIV/AIDS treatment is interrupted in developing countries, the world could see a surge of new infections and AIDS-related deaths abroad. The risk to the U.S. is global spread of the virus and the potential that new, drug-resistant strains will emerge. While HIV/AIDS in the U.S. has declined it remains a significant public health concern, with an estimated 31,800 new infections recorded in 2022.

Today, outpatient services at Grace help to curb spread of these serious diseases while also providing other essential services:

• Pediatric and Adult TB treatment
• HIV/AIDS Counseling and treatment services
• General pediatric clinic
• State-of-the-art eye clinic
• Reproductive health services
• Nutrition clinics

I hope you will agree that this isn't just about being charitable to a close foreign neighbor in need (Haiti is just 700 miles from Miami, Florida). When we help Haiti and other developing countries, we ultimately help ourselves—and the rest of the world.

Please donate if you can to protect us all. ~ Liz