Students from GSIS’ Global Health Affairs student group, Santé, recently teamed up with acclaimed band The Arcade Fire to help raise money for Partners in Health (PIH), an international global health organization whose mission is to “provide a preferential option for the poor in health care.” The Montreal-based indie-rock group recently kicked off its North American tour in support of its second album “Neon Bible” and will be donating to PIH $1 of every ticket sold.  

The first gig of Arcade Fire’s tour was Monday, Sept. 17 at Red Rocks, where Santé students collected donations for PIH before and after the show and handed out posters to fans about PIH’s work around the world. After the show, Santé volunteers had a chance to meet the band and get a few pictures on the legendary red rocks. 

Arcade Fire decided to support PIH, in part, because band member Règine Chassagne is a first-generation Canadian whose parents are from Haiti. Proceeds raised from the tour will go directly to support Zanmi Lasante, PIH’s network of healthcare and social services in Haiti. 

For many members of Santé this wasn’t their first exposure to PIH. Last year, GSIS partnered with the University of Colorado’s Health Sciences Center, Department of Preventive Medicine & Biometrics and CU Center for Global Health to bring PIH co-founder and Harvard Professor Paul Farmer to Denver for a lecture on his unique model of healthcare.

Founded in 1987, PIH began providing primary health care services at no charge to the residents of Haiti’s impoverished Central Plateau. Today PIH has projects in eight countries, where it helps provide healthcare and address basic social and economic needs in poor communities--from treating AIDS and tuberculosis to providing school fees and meals to impoverished families.