Louise Ivers, MD spends half her time at Partners In Health sites in Haiti, treating HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis, as well as providing care in the general medicine, pediatrics and malnutrition clinics there. In 2006, Dr. Ivers took on the role of Director of the Partners In Health HIV Equity Initiative in Haiti. The HIV Equity Initiative is a pioneering effort that was one of the first in the world to provide HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention services to the destitute sick. Its success paved the way for today’s worldwide AIDS treatment efforts in Africa and other poor countries. As the New York Times noted, “No program to treat people in the poorest countries has more intrigued experts than the one started in Haiti by Partners In Health.” (11/30/03) Today, the program Dr. Ivers heads treats more than 2000 HIV/AIDS patients and monitors a total of 6000. She is also the principal investigator for research documenting the impact of targeted food assistance on the health of HIV/AIDS patients in Haiti, a critical component of PIH’s approach to care. She has also been central to PIH’s success in virtually eliminating the incidence of mother-to-child transmission of the HIV virus among its patients there. Today, transmission rates are on par with those typically found in the developed world and are far lower than usually found in poor countries.

Dr. Ivers received her MB, BCh, and BAO (with honors) in 1997 from University College in Dublin, Ireland and received a diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in 2002. She recently completed an Infectious Disease Fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and a Clinical and Research Fellowship at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Ivers completed her Masters in Public Health at the Harvard School of Public Health in 2005. She was awarded the Edward Kass Award for Clinical Excellence from the Massachusetts Infectious Disease Society in 2004.