Léogâne (Leyogàn in Haitian Creole: pronounced 'lai-ă-gone'). Family Health Ministries began working in Leogane in 1993, with a focus a cervical cancer prevention.
Residents of the city of Leogane refer to a 225 square mile area surrounding the city as the Léogâne commune. This area includes the alluvial plain and the surrounding mountains approximately half of the distance to Jacmel. FHM partners with a mountain community located in the Leogane Commune called Fondwa.
City
Léogâne is a coastal city that is located about 29 km (18 miles) West of the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince [18°30′39″N &72°38′2″W]. The population of the city has grown from about 6,000 in 1982 to an estimated 200,000 today. It is located on an alluvial plain surrounded by mountains (right) and serves as an important sugar cane growing and processing community. The climate is marine tropical with hot humid summers and milder winters. Fishing (right) is one of the main agricultural industries in the area, along with traditional farming.
HISTORY OF LEOGANE
The city of Léogâne was originally called Yaguana by the indigenous Indians. Yaguana was the birthplace of the Tainos Indian Queen, Anacaona, who became one of the earliest symbols of resistance in the history books of Haiti after she was arrested and hanged at the age of 29 by a Spanish governor. In 1770, the first recorded earthquake destroyed Leogane, but was rebuilt by 1803. During the Haitian fight for independence (Haitian Revolution, 1791-1804), rebel leader Jean-Jacque Dessalines ordered his men to burn the town to keep the French from taking control.
Today, Leogane is reported to be the largest producer of rum in the country, and it was also the epicenter of the January 12, 2010 earthquake.
History of FHM in Leogane
June 1993:
Relationship began with Dr. Jean-Claude Fertillien: committed to helping with cervical cancer prevention
May 1994:
Colposcopy training for Dr. Fertilien at Duke University Medical Center with Dr. David Walmer, and Dr. John Soper
April 1999
Dr. David Walmer established partnership with Hopital St. Croix to develop a strategy to screen women for cervical cancer in Leogane.
January 2000
Dr. David Walmer takes several graduate students from his "International Development and Health" course at Duke to Fondwa - a public-health campaign to teach villagers the basics about health and hygiene.
June 2000
925 women living in Leogane are surveyed about their knowledge of cervical cancer
July 2000
Family Health Ministries is incorporated
August 2007
Family Health Ministries purchased 10 acres of land to build the Leogane Family Health and Research Center
September 2007
FastHPV Research Trial with Digene Corporation
January 2009
FHM outpatient center opens, one year after the Hopital St.Croix closed.
May 2009
FHM established the Misyon Sante Fanmi Ayisyen, the Haitian counterpart to the US-based non-profit to increase access to medical care to residents of Leogane.
Leogane 
