“Maybe our response simply starts with personal belief, belief that the inequality that defines the state of world health is unacceptable, and belief that we must pursue that conviction with a sense of duty. And with enough people fulfilling this duty, from community health workers to policy makers, the fates may change for the many women, men, and children living with AIDS.”
HTH Co-founder and Clinical Director Kevin Fiori, 2004
For the past decade, HTH, founded by Peace Corps Volunteers, has provided comprehensive HIV/AIDS care to adults and children in Togo. In 2014, over 70% of 1900 patients we served were women, and over 60% of our staff were women. In honor of International Women’s Day (March 8) and Peace Corps Week (March 1-7), HTH reflects on the complex issues of gender and HIV in Togo.
As we know, women are disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS. As a Peace Corps Volunteer in 2004, HTH Co-founder and Clinical Director Kevin Fiori wrote, “Gender inequality affects women almost from birth, and creates a complicated web of risk factors–ranging from economic disadvantage to gender discrimination–which individual-based prevention methods [against HIV/AIDS] fail to address and rectify.”
Thus, HTH has strived to change this inequality. We aim to build the capacity of local women in the communities we serve through helping them become and stay healthy, and providing job opportunities for women who may have never completed formal education. The mission of HTH has not changed since our foundation, and we will continue “ensuring health as a human right and promoting social justice.”