The team at CHARESS, Haiti
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The team at CHARESS will continue to oversee clinical mentoring activities at 20 sites and provide technical assistance to the Ministry of Public Health and Population and other implementing partners in Haiti.
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The International Training and Education Center for Health (I-TECH) made UW history when its country offices in Haiti and India transitioned into independent organizations. This is the first time a UW-led organization has transitioned into an international one that is locally owned.

I-TECH, a center in UW’s Department of Global Health, aims to strengthen health systems, as well as boost prevention, care, and treatment of infectious diseases, particularly HIV, around the globe. I-TECH recently took a major step forward by successfully transitioning two of its offices – in Haiti and India – to become locally owned independent organizations.

“I-TECH’s goal is to strengthen local capacity and to help build sustainable health systems through programs that are tailored to be absorbed into national systems,” says Dr. Ann Downer, I-TECH Executive Director and Professor in the UW Department of Global Health.

Dr. Jean-Guy Honoré, Executive Director of CHARESS (formerly I-TECH’s Haiti office), says “Our health information systems work, in particular, has had a real impact in Haiti, and our new local status will allow CHARESS to pursue even more opportunities to become a global leader.”

“This really opens doors to new things,” says Dr. Anwar Parvez Sayed, Clinical Programs Director for I-TECH India. “We were previously looked at as a foreign entity, and we can now apply for local grants.”

The transition is based on the concept that long-term, sustainable achievements in development requires local people to be the drivers of change. To this end, I-TECH works with local partners to develop skilled health care workers and strong national health systems in resource-limited countries.

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