Health officials have announced that the death toll for Haiti’s cholera outbreak has risen to 544 people.
Thousands are being treated in hospitals across Haiti for severe diarrhea, vomiting and abdominal pain. Cholera is an intestinal disease that can be fatal if it is not properly treated through rehydration and antibiotics. Unfortunately, even before the January earthquake devastated Haiti, the infrastructure system was inadequate to offer access to clean water for most Haitians. Nor is medical treatment readily available for large sections of the population.
The situation has been further worsened by Hurricane Tomas, which brought extremely heavy rains last week, and has raised fears that the disease could worsen. Cholera spreads through contaminated water and the hurricane resulted in flooding and mudslides in some areas.
Health authorities have also confirmed that cholera has now spread to the capital Port-au-Prince; endangering the 2.5 to 3 million who live in close proximity to each other there. There are at least another 114 suspected cases of cholera in Port-au-Prince being tested.
Compassion International, which has worked in Haiti since 1968, has child development centers that are providing purified water, water sanitation tablets and water filtration systems to the Compassion-assisted children and their families.
“Without access to clean water, inexpensive medical treatments and basic education, the poor in Haiti as well as other countries will continue to suffer and die needlessly from survivable disease,” wrote Mark Hanlon, senior vice president of Compassion U.S., in a recent column. “The only way to effectively beat these ancient enemies that prey on the poor is to defeat poverty.”
Meanwhile, Water Missions International, an engineering relief and development Christian nonprofit, recently sent 20 water treatment systems to Haiti. Each water treatment system can be set up and operational within two hours and provide 5,000 Haitians with their daily water needs for less than a penny per person per day. The water systems being sent will provide 100,000 Haitians with access to sustainable, safe water.
“We have to remember that hundreds of thousands of Haitians are living under pieces of plastic and even small winds could be devastating,” said George Greene III, Water Missions International founder. “The potential for a significant cholera outbreak in these conditions multiplies.”
Water Missions International has previously sent 115 water treatment systems to Haiti. The organization installed 10 additional systems in October in response to the cholera outbreak, providing 50,000 more people in the Artibonite Valley with safe water.
(Image from Water Missions International).