Loune Viaud

Loune Viaud

"Loune Viaud runs Zanmi Lasante (Partners in Health), a sociomedical complex based in the town of Cange, a squatter’s settlement in Central Haiti. Zanmi Lasante’s operations include central Haiti’s largest hospital, several outpatient clinics, and a central office for outreach workers in over 100 outlying villages. Under Viaud’s leadership, these community outreach workers delivery therapy, supervise health programs, work to improve literacy particularly among women, improve hazardous dwellings, and ensure that a safe supply of drinking water is available. The hospital is also affiliated with several schools, which in addition to providing over 2000 students with invaluable skills gives workers a dignified way to distribute food to needy children.

"Viaud also serves on the Advisory Board of Family TIES (Together in Enhancing Support) of Massachusetts, a statewide information and parent-to-parent support project for families of children with special needs and chronic illness. She received a Peace and Justice Award from the Cambridge Peace Commission in 2000 and has been honored by many poor communities in Haiti over the years. Her expertise in helping draft Haiti’s and Zanmi Lasante’s proposal to the Global Fund for AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM) resulted in the awarding of a $67 million grant to Haiti, which will be shared with Zanmi Lasante. She is a 2002 recipient of the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award." OSI Forum

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