Home Programs GHESKIO Main page Mission, History, and Organizational Structure

The Mission, History, and Organizational Structure of GHESKIO

Mission

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.

History

In the early 1980s, a group of Haitian clinicians and public health professionals began to notice a growing number of patients dying from Kaposi's sarcoma and unusual opportunistic infections. In 1982, they founded the Haitian Group for the Study of Kaposi's Sarcoma and Opportunistic Infections (GHESKIO). In 1983, GHESKIO published their experiences in The New England Journal of Medicine, documenting the first cases of AIDS in a developing country. In 1987, GHESKIO was recognized as an official independent non-governmental organization by the Haitian Government. In 2000, the Haitian government conferred upon GHESKIO a status of "Public Utility," a designation reserved for institutions "essential to the welfare of the Haitian people" such as the Haitian Red Cross. For more than twenty years GHESKIO has served as the Haitian Government's research and training center for HIV/AIDS, and it is now an internationally recognized center of excellence.

Organizational Structure

Dr. Jean Pape has been the director of GHESKIO since its inception, and many of GHESKIO's staff have been with the center for more than twenty years. Dr. Pape and the GHESKIO Board of Directors work with the Community Advisory Board, the Weill Cornell Medical College and other universities to coordinate the core sections of the center, such as the laboratory service clinics, the data management center, and the research and training programs.

Research at GHESKIO

Through clinical and operational research, GHESKIO seeks to define treatment and prevention models for HIV/AIDS and related diseases that are appropriate and effective for Haiti. The main focus of the research is HIV, sexually transmitted infections, and tuberculosis. The GHESKIO research program has evolved from early observational studies to large clinical trials and its designation as an international research center of excellence. In 1983, GHESKIO received its initial funding from the National Institutes of Health to define the epidemiology, natural history, risk factors, and associated co-infections of HIV/AIDS. Since then, GHESKIO's consistent research productivity has been recognized by uninterrupted support from the National Institutes of Health, a MERIT award in 1990, and twenty new or competitive renewal grants. GHESKIO also conducts research with support from the World Health Organization and the French Government's National Agency for AIDS Research.

GHESKIO Main page