Partners In Health provides critical health care services to the world’s poorest and sickest communities. Founded in 1987 to support needs in Haiti, PIH has since become a leader in the movement to improve healthcare in developing nations and an expert in crisis health delivery. When confronted with their largest-ever disaster response situation, PIH called on VOX Global to assist in critical communications efforts.
In 2010, the world watched in shock as a 7.0 earthquake devastated Haiti. The disaster killed hundreds of thousands, crashed the country’s electric and communications infrastructure and left many hundreds of thousands more homeless, hungry and vulnerable. PIH immediately mobilized to respond to the human suffering and focus the global humanitarian response.
As PIH shifted all resources toward disaster response, they looked for help getting real-time information to their donors, partners, the media and broader public. The PIH team partnered with VOX Global to manage the intensive process of listening to these groups and providing needed information quickly and accurately.
Our team worked onsite in the Boston headquarters of PIH for the first 90 days in the wake of the disaster, helping PIH respond to the deluge of media interest and urgent requests for information. We used a tracking system to prioritize and handle media inquiries, coordinated official statements and digital and social media, and prepared PIH spokespeople to provide information to the public. The “PIH Daily Report from Haiti” email circulated critical on the ground updates to journalists, key donors and PIH partners.
In the wake of the disaster, countless organizations and individuals were moved to help and sought trusted pathways to donate. Our work allowed PIH to focus their expertise on direct humanitarian efforts while also reaching those around the world who wanted to help.
In the 60 days after the earthquake, Partners In Health’s earthquake response was noted in more than 600 print articles, 880 TV mentions and hundreds of blog posts. These mentions were overwhelmingly positive, describing PIH as “the go-to international group for coordinating the emergency medical response” and “the best connected organization on the ground in Haiti.”
As a direct result of their communications efforts, Partners In Health raised more than $70 million to aid in relieving suffering and beginning to rebuild the disaster-torn region. These funds supported essential response efforts and funded new public health options that continue to help the people of Haiti today.
