Columbia University’s International Family AIDS Program For Improved Maternal/Infant Health Outcomes

HFF does not consider unsolicited requests for funds and grant applications are provided by invitation only.

This is an ongoing collaboration that began in 2005 between the Hickey Family Foundation and the Dominican Family Health Program through Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health and International Family AIDS Program. Our financial support has continued and expanded programs to reduce HIV vertical transmission, provided prenatal and reproductive health care to adolescents, and care and treatment to people living with HIV in La Romana, Dominican Republic.

The current effort is focused on the need to improve the training and education of health professionals in the Dominican Republic, specifically in the areas of HIV, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and adolescent care.

These areas of medicine are virtually non-existent in formal medical and nursing training in the Dominican Republic. As a national model for HIV and STI care, in addition to adolescent care, the Dominican Family Health Program is the ideal organization to help fill this training gap.

In addition to training Dominican providers and students, the program continues to provide global health rotations for health sciences students from outside of the Dominican Republic, allowing them to gain knowledge and experience that will make them better providers for diverse, high-needs populations.

In this way, the HFF-funded Dominican Family Health Program will provide training and mentoring to local and foreign health providers and students as a form of strengthening capacity and supporting Dominican health services. This training and educational component of the Dominican Family Health Program complements its holistic and comprehensive approach to improving the health of individuals and families so that they can enjoy an improved quality of life

For more information, visit: www.cumc.columbia.edu/education/ifap-global-health-program and www.clinicadefamilia.org.do