Haiti’s Ministry of Health in partnership with USAID/Haiti recently hosted the “International Conference on Access to Health Care for All in Haiti: Challenges and Perspectives for Funding.”  Designed to build commitment and momentum toward launching the effort to develop Haiti’s first health financing strategy, the conference was held in Port-au-Prince on April 28 and 29, 2015, and was facilitated by the Health Finance and Governance (HFG) project.

Prime Minister Evans Paul and First Lady Sophia Martelly opened the conference, and underlined the importance of universal health coverage for the Haitian people. “L’action sans vision est vaine (Action without vision is in vain). Une vision accompagnée de l’action peut changer positivement beaucoup de chose. (A vision combined with action can make a great difference in many ways),” said the First Lady.

Additional opening remarks were made by USAID/Haiti Mission Director John Groarke and Mary Barton-Dock, Representative of the World Bank. Speakers included several Haitian government officials and private sector leaders as well as donor representatives and technical experts. The conference closed with highlights from Director General of the Ministry of Health, Dr. Georges Dubuche, a statement from U.S. Ambassador to Haiti, Pamela A. White, and a call to action from Minister of Health Florence Guillaume. More than 300 people participated in the conference.

Conference materials are available in French and English.