A New Chapter for HHA in Haiti: A Statement from the CEO

On behalf of all the team, we’d like to express our deep thanks for your thoughts and prayers following the recent troubles in Haiti. Whilst greatly saddened by the devastating situation in Port-au-Prince, I’m pleased to share that our team in Cap-Haitien has remained safe and the communities we support have, on the whole, remained relatively stable. Our commitment to Haiti is unwavering, however, I share this update with a heavy heart following a difficult decision we have recently had to make about HHA’s work in Haiti.

Our partnership with Convention Baptiste d’Haiti

When HHA was founded, our Haiti mission was focused on our partner hospital, HCBH, managed in partnership with Convention Baptiste d’Haiti (CBH). Despite many years of positive collaboration, the current CBH leadership has wilfully strayed from the shared values upon which we co-founded the hospital. Sadly, the recent behaviour of some CBH leaders has fallen well below the high standards we are committed to, including nepotism, unethical treatment of hospital staff and questionable financial practices. We simply cannot condone this - both ethically and in accordance with international charity standards.

We have worked tirelessly to address these issues, but have been met with resistance, and after much reflection, prayer, and consultation with key stakeholders, we have collectively reached the difficult decision that HHA’s future vision in Haiti will be best lived out in new ways. We will therefore be ending our partnership with CBH and withdrawing from HCBH by 30th April 2024. As co-founder of HCBH, this has not been an easy decision at all, but we are confident given the situation that it is the right one and will enable us to make a greater positive difference in the years ahead.

With your support, thousands of lives have been saved and transformed

This takes nothing away from the incredible impact we have all made through HCBH and nor does it diminish our passion and commitment to continue our mission in Haiti.

Looking back, we can be incredibly proud that together we helped HCBH become one of the leading hospitals in northern Haiti, transforming healthcare in the region. We helped pioneer one of Haiti’s first Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Centres, and started one of the region’s leading maternity and neonatal units, facilitating the safe birth of thousands of babies. We were at the forefront of major emergencies, establishing cholera treatment centres and a COVID19 unit, and we built the largest wheelchair programme in the country. We have seen hundreds of thousands of lives saved and transformed.

A new chapter for our mission in Haiti

As well as reflecting on what has been achieved, we look forward with renewed passion and commitment for our mission in Haiti. Particularly at this time of such turmoil, the communities we serve need our unwavering support more than ever, and we are committed to providing it.

Building on our years of experience in Haiti, and learning from the exciting new models of care we have successfully implemented in East Africa, this spring we are starting a new chapter in our Haiti mission. In the coming months our key projects will transition into a new ‘HHA Haiti Hub’ where we are confident they will flourish. Our new ‘hub’ will house our respite care centre for children with disabilities, alongside our rehabilitation efforts and national wheelchair distribution centre. It will also become the centre of our future maternal and infant health work, where our longstanding collaborations with local partners are as strong as ever. As one local community leader said to us, “This is not the end of the story, it’s just a new chapter!”

We are committed to keeping you, our supporters, updated and we will share more details of our exciting plans with you very soon.

Haiti continues to need our love, support and solidarity

While moving our mission in Haiti to a new home is one of the hardest decisions we’ve ever had to make, we strongly believe it is the right one, and we are excited for the next chapter and the opportunities it will bring. We understand that you may have questions about this transition, so we’ve included some additional information here. If you’d like to chat further, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

Over Easter weekend, many of us have been reflecting on the Easter story: a story that shares the suffering of a broken world, but also a hope and love that makes all things possible. We founded HHA on this hope, inspired by the call of Jesus to love others as we would wish to be loved. Even in these difficult times, we chose to stand in love, hope and solidarity with the people of Haiti, and hope you’ll continue to stand with us.

Your support will be more important than ever over the coming months – and we’ll be in touch soon about a very exciting match-funding opportunity to make your support go even further during the month of May. For now, as our dear local team say, kenbe fèm - ‘stand strong’, as we continue to hold this wonderful nation in our thoughts and prayers, trusting in a brighter future, and venturing forth in this new season.

Carwyn Hill MBE

CEO and Co-founder of Hope Health Action

PDFs of the full statement and the Q&A are available for sharing if required.