What We Do > Healthcare Programs > Back to Haiti

CMMB began over 90 years ago after a New York doctor, Dr. Paluel Flagg, returned from a visit to Haiti inspired to mobilize volunteer healthcare resources in the U.S. to help the people of that country. Today, CMMB extends its special relationship with the people of Haiti by working with local faith-based partners to provide primary healthcare, life skills training, and public health information to school-aged children and their parents. Conducted in partnership with Caritas Haiti, the Salesian Sisters and the Network of Health Institutions of the Archdiocese of Port-au-Prince, Back to Haiti supports the educational work of the Salesian Sisters by providing routine physical exams and health education classes to their students.

Since the January 12 earthquake CMMB has:

• Raised more than $20 million in donated medicines and medical supplies.
• Accepted medicines and medical supplies from 42 organizations, parishes and companies.
• Purchased 110 tens, both family shelters and business.
• Supplied hygiene kits for approximately 23,000 women, children and men.
• With our partners, placed more than 250 volunteers. Our returning volunteers have told us that it was not unusual for them to help 300-400 patients a day.
• Distributed 5,000 copes of a patient education booklet, in Creole, for amputees.

Once the emergency phase for Haiti relief passed, CMMB moved quickly to perform an assessment, which would provide the needed information for our future plans. Following that, our Executive Team was held a planning meeting with Haiti Country Director, Dr. Dianne Jean-Francois in Washington, D. C. for her untiring and heartfelt leadership in Haiti and to plan with her for CMMB’s long-range recovery efforts there. You will be happy to hear that Dianne is positive about the future of Haiti and displays the upbeat, energetic and faithful attitude toward her life and work that we’ve come to admire so much.

In our discussions with Dianne, we continued to define our path going forward in Haiti: Over the next three years, CMMB envisions a three-part recovery and rehabilitation phase: provision of health care services and medical volunteers; provision of pharmaceutical supplies and medical equipment; and, physical rehabilitation and reconstruction of health facilities.

CMMB Healthcare Programs

AIDSRelief - HIV treatment programs
Born to Live - Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission (PMTCT) of HIV
Choose to Care - Hospice and orphan care
Responding to AIDS in China and India - Training and educational programs
Accion por la Salud Familiar - Community programs for family health
Back to Haiti - Primary healthcare programs
Men Taking Action - Program in Zambia to address male attitudes and practices that negatively affect women attending antenatal clinics and accessing PMTCT services
Healing Help - Medical shipments