Dr. Marie-Marcelle Deschamps named finalist for 2023 Women Building Peace Award

Dr. Marie-Marcelle Deschamps, co-founder and deputy director of GHESKIO, was named as one of four finalists for the U.S. Institute of Peace 2023 Women Building Peace Award. Deschamps’ selection is in recognition of her advocacy for women’s education and commitment toward peace and ending violent conflict in Haiti.

Her nomination garnered the attention of the Miami Herald, which highlighted the award and her career on December 1st. Of her selection as a finalist, Deschamps told the Herald that she is honored to bring global attention to Haiti’s ongoing unrest, as well as the challenges faced by patients and the healthcare workers that serve them. When asked by the Miami Herald about the challenges of providing health care in Port-au-Prince during the recent civil strife and gang violence, Dr. Deschamps responded, “We each have a battle and mine is staying here.” Deschamps also spoke of her effort to center women as she leads GHESKIO, day-to-day, through the continuing crisis: “I take the time to listen to the women and I think that’s what’s missing now in the society… The woman is the epicenter of the family, even when the men are there, or not there; everything depends on the women in Haiti.”

We congratulate Dr. Deschamps on her nomination and appreciate her hard work to lead GHESKIO and its staff to provide patients with health care, even through the most uncertain conditions.

Read the full length Miami Herald article here: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/haiti/article282533508.html#storylink=cpy