FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY.

ALL QUOTATIONS AS WELL AS STATED CREDENTIALS ARE FICTIONAL

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS CHICAGO HPA 432 SPRING 2016

PHARM-AID
U.S. Pharmaceutical Redistribution to Haiti
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For More Information Contact:
Name: Nicole Laramee
Phone:(774)-571-XXX
Email: nlaram2@uic.edu
PHARM-AID:
Allowing U.S. Pharmaceutical Redistribution to Haiti for Mutual Benefit
New York City, NY (April 24, 2016) - Despite Haitis history of strength and perseverance, recent
natural disasters have exceeded the countrys ability to adequately respond. The 7.0 magnitude
earthquake that struck Haiti in 2010 left more than 230,000 dead, 1.5 million homeless,
introduced a cholera outbreak affecting approximately 700,000 individuals, and effectively
destabilized the countrys already fragile environmental, social, and civil stability. In addition, as
the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, many Haitians continue to live deeply entrenched
in a never-ending cycle of poverty, with approximately 10.4 million (60%) Haitians living under
the national poverty line of U.S. $2.42 per day, and over 2.4 million (25%) Haitians living under
the national extreme poverty line of U.S. $1.23 per day.
The confluence of the above factors has made it extremely difficult for the vast majority of
Haitians to to afford the scarce, overpriced pharmaceutical medications available in the region. In
2013, a study conducted by Chahal et al. and published in the Journal of Global Health
determined that Haiti faces inadequate medication access for its residents. The studys crosssectional nationwide survey of availability and consumer pricing for 60 essential medications in
Haiti found that availability in all sectors was extremely low, and that the medications that were
available were priced much higher than the international reference price.
To put things into perspective, this means that the lowest paid Haitian government worker
would need 2.5 days wages to treat an adult respiratory infection with generic medications from
the public sector, and that the treatment of a pediatric bacterial infection with originator brand
medications from a retail pharmacy would cost that same worker approximately 25 days wages
says Harinder Chahal, PharmD and Director of Pharmacy Development for the Haiti Initiative at
the University of California San Francisco.
In order to increase the access and affordability of essential medications in Haiti, it is necessary
to allow for the redistribution of FDA-viable U.S. pharmaceuticals to the region. Haitians should
be given the ability to access and afford essential globally and regionally-recommended
medications that will enhance their overall quality of life while simultaneously working to
restore much needed sustainable, economic infrastructure. In order to give Haitians these
abilities, it is imperative to support the amendment of H.R. Bill 1891, Title III, the 2025
Extension of Preferential Duty Treatment Program for Haiti, Section 301 to allow for the
redistribution of excess FDA-viable U.S. pharmaceuticals to Haiti.