This is an ongoing collaboration that began in 2005 between the Hickey Family Foundation and the Dominican Family Health Program originally established at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. Our financial support has continued through the transition to the Children’s Global Health Fund, where the programs have expanded to strengthen the local capacity of the community clinic’s programs to better respond to the health needs of vulnerable populations, reduce HIV vertical transmission, provide prenatal and reproductive health care to adolescents, and care and treatment to people living with HIV in La Romana, Dominican Republic.

The effort is focused on the need to improve the training and education of health professionals in the Dominican Republic, specifically in the areas of HIV, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and adolescent care. These areas of medicine are virtually non-existent in formal medical and nursing training in the Dominican Republic. As a national model for HIV and STI care in addition to adolescent care, the Dominican Family Health Program is the ideal organization to help fill this training gap. In addition to training Dominican providers and students, the program continues to provide global health rotations for health sciences students from outside of the Dominican Republic, allowing them to gain knowledge and experience that will make them better providers for diverse, high-needs populations.

In addition, the Hickey Family Foundation has also supported the construction of a new community clinic in La Romana that will ensure that the work and investment can continue for years to come. It is expected that the new facility will open in 2028.

For more information, visit childrensglobalhealthfund.org