09 December, 2010
MONTE PLATA, Dominican Republic – December 1, 2010. – In the presence of hundreds of people gathered at the BRA’s Medical Center inside Batey Cinco Casas in the province of Monte Plata to celebrate World AIDS Day, the Batey Relief Alliance (BRA) presented the “True Partners Award” to three local organizations, including the Clinton HIV/AIDS Initiative, Population Services International and Global Fund’s del Instituto Dermatológico y Cirugía de Piel for their life-saving work with BRA to fight HIV and AIDS in the Dominican Republic (DR).
Ulrick Gaillard, BRA’s CEO commented that for the past five years, his organization worked strategically with these partners to help strengthen the DR’s National Response to Fight AIDS inside the bateyes, by forming dozens of young leaders to work on education campaigns; collaborating with communities and key actors to reduce the spread of the virus and deliver microcredit/economic assistance and comprehensive health and HIV (antiretroviral) treatment to people living with HIV/AIDS; and providing nutritional aid to orphans and vulnerable children, pregnant women and the elderly.
In compliance with the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, BRA continues to further develop its HIV/AIDS comprehensive program in Monte Plata by creating agricultural cooperatives to develop infrastructures and agriculture inside seven batey communities in order to produce food security and economic self-sufficiency for 35,000 people, including HIV/AIDS-affected families.
Currently BRA works in more than 70 bateyes and rural communities of the provinces Monte Plata and Pedernales and in the Southeast border regions of the Republic of Haiti.
