NEW YORK, Jan. 27 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Ford Foundation today announced a $250,000 grant to the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), a global health-focused non-profit started by former President William J. Clinton in 2002. The grant will ensure the continuation of HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention services in Haiti in the aftermath of the devastating January 12 earthquake.

Haiti has one of the highest HIV infection rates outside sub-Saharan Africa, and tens of thousands of Haitian men, women and children are currently without access to reliable care and facilities. These funds will help organizations on the ground provide treatments and services that are specially suited to crisis conditions.

"HIV was a crisis in Haiti before the earthquake," said Luis Ubinas, president of the Ford Foundation. "It is essential that HIV treatment is integrated into the crisis response. Emerging from this tragedy we have an opportunity, and a responsibility, to help build a strong and effective system of prevention and treatment that endures for the future."

The Ford Foundation, through its Global Initiative on HIV/AIDS, last year partnered with CHAI and an array of local and international service providers based in Haiti and other Caribbean nations in an effort to strengthen HIV/AIDS strategy and implementation in the region. This latest grant reflects Ford's ongoing commitment to improving the lives and opportunities of those living with HIV/AIDS.

The Ford Foundation is an independent, nonprofit grant-making organization. For more than half a century it has worked with courageous people on the frontlines of social change worldwide, guided by its mission to strengthen democratic values, reduce poverty and injustice, promote international cooperation, and advance human achievement. With headquarters in New York, the foundation has offices in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.

SOURCE Ford Foundation

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