The International Center for Equal Healthcare Access (ICEHA) is a network of physicians and nurses who volunteer technical assistance on HIV care and infectious diseases to clinics in developing countries.  Although ARV treatment will soon become more widely available in the developing world, the human resources needed to administer these drugs are woefully inadequate.

Using clinical mentoring techniques, our innovative approach leverages volunteer experts:

1. To prepare clinics and clinical personnel in developing countries for the introduction of HIV care.
2. To dramatically reduce the number of HIV infections caused by unsafe medical practices and lack of information about HIV/AIDS.

Impact:

For developing countries: ICEHA gives countries the local expertise they need to provide adequate healthcare to their own populations, avoiding having to rely on donor help indefinitely.

For HIV-infected patients in resource-poor settings: ICEHA provides patients with trained healthcare providers able to care for HIV-infected patients even while local resources are limited, transforming HIV from a fatal disease to a chronic one where antiretroviral (anti-AIDS) medication is available.

For international volunteer healthcare providers: ICEHA allows providers to make a lasting contribution to healthcare delivery in a resource-poor country, to sharpen their clinical skills in HIV/AIDS care, and to sharpen creativity around resource-constraints.  Many of the skills learned are in turn applicable to poor areas and immigrant populations in the developed world.

For donors:  ICEHA offers the opportunity to contribute to a world where healthcare is available to all, even if resources are limited and to contribute to the empowerment of developing countries enabling them to build up local expertise and take care of their own population.   For every 1 US$ in cash donated, 13 US$ are generated in in-kind services in developing countries.