GHESKIO and Weill Cornell Medicine received a two-year grant to support initiatives geared toward curing high blood pressure in Haiti. The $158,000 grant was provided by LINKS — an online community and resource-sharing platform that connects people working to improve cardiovascular health around the world.
“Cardiovascular disease is now the leading cause of death for adults in Haiti, far surpassing HIV and infectious diseases,” said Dr. Molly McNairy, an associate professor of medicine and a member of the Center for Global Health at Weill Cornell Medicine, and a physician-scientist at GHESKIO Centers in Haiti. “Our patients are developing early-onset high blood pressure in their teenage and young adult years, which result in stroke and heart disease. To have the support for staff training, implementation, and strategic planning for high blood pressure for Haiti is phenomenal.”
The Weill Cornell Medicine-GHESKIO program will “train physicians, nurses and health care workers in 30 health centers on guidelines for high blood pressure care, expand a community-based high blood pressure program, and work to ensure a supply of lifesaving blood pressure medication.”