Haiti NCDI Poverty Commission
Members of the Haiti NCDI Poverty Commission represent a range of institutions, including the Ministry of Public Health and Population Units on Mental Health and Epidemiology, the Hospital of the State University of Haiti, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Partners In Health and Zanmi Lasante, the Group to Support and Control Cancer, the Haitian Society of Hypertension, and the University Hospital of Mirebalais. The Commission’s co-chairs are Dr. Jean Ronald Cadet of the Ministry of Public Health and Population, Dr. Gene Kwan of Partners In Health and Boston Medical Center, and Dr. Nancy Larco, executive director of the Haitian Foundation of Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease.
The Haiti Commission held its first meeting in December 2016 in Port-au-Prince. There the commissioners shared their expertise in cancer, epidemiology, rehabilitation, mental health, pain and palliative care, nephrology, and cardiology. They also highlighted opportunities for strengthening data surrounding NCDs and injuries in the poor and the provision of testing and treatment. Commission members expressed their enthusiasm about working on priority-setting and telling the stories of Haitian people living with severe noncommunicable diseases.
In April 2025, the Haiti NCDI Poverty Commission relaunched its work with an updating of its final report, Rapport de la Commission Haïtienne sur les Maladies Non-Transmissibles, les Traumatismes (MNTT) et la Pauvreté.
Commission Membership
Co-Chairs
Jean Ronald Cadet — Technical Consultant, Ministre de la Santé Publique et de la Population
Gene Kwan — Cardiologist, Boston University and Advisor, Non-Communicable Diseases at Partners In Health in Boston, Haiti, and Rwanda
Nancy Larco — Endocrinologist and Executive Director, Fondation Haitienne de Diabete et de Maladies Cardio-Vasculaires
Commissioners
Paul Adrien — Director of Epidemiology Laboratory and Research, Ministre de la Santé Publique et de la Population
Densa Bélony — Research Assistant, Haiti NCDI Poverty Commission and Zanmi Lasante
Jean-Pierre Brisma — Consultant, PLSI, OPS/WHO
Mauricio Cerpa — Epidemiologist, Health surveillance, disease prevention and control, OPS/WHO
Elsie M. Chalumeau — Head of Internal Medicine, HUEH
Roger Rémy Jean-Charles — Director, Centre Haitien d'Hypertension; President, Société Haïienne d'Hypertension
Philip Cleophat — Head of Internal Medicine, Hôpital Universitaire de Mirebalais and Zanmi Lasante
Jacques Clerville — Assistant Head of Epidemiological Surveillance, Ministre de la Santé Publique et de la Population
Ruth Damuse — Director of Oncology, Hôpital Universitaire de Mirebalais and Zanmi Lasante
Jean Claude Desgranges — Fondation du 3e âge
Eddy Eustache — Director of Psychosocial and Mental Health Services, Zanmi Lasante
Denise Fabien — Anesthesiologist, HUEH
Pascale Hertelou Gassant — Pediatric Oncologist, Hôpital St-Damien
Rene Domersant Junior — Coordinator of the Mental Health Unit, Ministre de la Santé Publique et de la Population
Benisa Joassaint — Mentor, Clinic Project Management Unit, Ministre de la Santé Publique et de la Population
Rodolphe Malebranche — Head of Training and Research, FMP/UEH; Resident Director, HUEH
Nadine Montreuil — Administrative Director, Group to Support and Control Cancer
Ryan McBain — Health Economist, NCDI Poverty Network and Center for Integration Science in Global Health Equity, Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Julio Pedroza — Health Service Systems Coordinator, OPS/WHO
Joelle Philogene — Director of the Sanatorium
Jocelyn Pierre-Louis — Director, Center for Health Promotion and Environmental Protection, Ministre de la Santé Publique et de la Population
Linda Rimpel — Co-Head of Emergency Medicine, Hôpital Universitaire de Mirebalais and Zanmi Lasante
Shada Rouhani — Co-Head of Emergency Medicine, Hôpital Universitaire de Mirebalais and Zanmi Lasante
Richard Elie Romage — Chief of Rehabilitation, Hôpital Universitaire de Mirebalais and Zanmi Lasante
Gertie Surena — Director of Training and Communication, Group to Support and Control Cancer
Stanley Juin — Head of Epidemiological Surveillance, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Serge Vertilus — Assistant Head of Internal Medicine, Hôpital Universitaire de Mirebalais
Haiti Updates
