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| PHP Founders, December 1988 |
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In 1987 these 3 women started to respond to the beginning of HIV/AIDS in the community of women and children particularly in the area of South Florida (Belle Glade, Miami, ) Initially the NGO was registered as Women International AIDS Network. IN 1988, WIAN received a grant from the Centers for Disease Control to educate women of color and or Caribbean descent on preventing AIDS. Later we were told that the disease was not an interest in the women population and that funding for that group did not exist. It was a gay disease and funding will be strictly allocated to groups and government programs addressing the gay population
We chose to expand our presence and changed the name in 1988 to Partners in Health Protection, Inc. The founder Michele Rigaud and her colleagues from University of Miami, Dr. Rocio Loor and Virginia Irwin were instrumental in facilitating the programs for prevention of HIV, Hepatitis B and Tuberculosis.
We had a strong presence in Atlanta, Georgia, in Sweeden at the International AIDS conference, in Washington DC and in South Florida. We were pioneers in the fight against AIDS for women. We were the voices, the presence and the support that was needed. We kept the pressure and together with other small groups across the country but primarily in Europe, we did not stop. We may have not make a big difference in slowing down the progress of the disease in women, particularly women of color, but we remember the road block that we had to overcome to speak up and be heard.
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Vision Statement
Partners in Health Protection, Inc (PHP) was founded in 1987 to provide technical assistance and support to government and non-government organizations to address the health and welfare needs of women and adolescents worldwide. PHP is a 501 (c) 3 non profit organization operating in Baltimore Maryland and in Central Florida, and serving various populations nationally and internationally. Our staff, consultants, and volunteers consist of seriously committed and dedicated corps of health care providers, students and business professionals who serve community-based organizations by assisting with the development, implementation and evaluation of sound public health and environmental programs.
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As we celebrate 20 years we reflect on how it all began. Out of frustration, indignation, outraged, and in the middle of a serious health crisis, Michele Rigaud with the support of two best friends, Rocio Loor and Virginia Irwin, started the crusade that gave a voice to women all over the world. It was the beginning of the AIDS era and women were then not considered to be neither "the prime suspect" nor the "unfortunate victim". After a desperate search for leadership, and the realization that few communities had addressed the issue of HIV and women, Dr. Rigaud founded the "Women International AIDS Network, Inc". Women were not among the risk groups (in the United States) in 1987 according to the AIDS surveillance reports. In fact to address the issues of women was unpopular and there were no prevention programs funded for that group. It was however quite clear that the disease impacted not only women but the number of HIV positive babies and children was staggering. There was no cure, the HIV test was not quite available for all and most of the funding was allocated to other identified groups. We felt that there was a greater need for women to be educated, we wanted to take action and so we did.
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