Agency distributing sanitation supplies, providing prevention education
In the wake of a cholera outbreak in Haiti that has killed more than 300 people and sickened thousands, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency is ramping up efforts to prevent the spread of the disease to displaced persons, many who are living in makeshift shelters since the deadly January 12 earthquake.
"The cholera outbreak in Haiti is the worst case scenario," said Fritz Bissereth, country director for ADRA Haiti. "We could not be unconcerned about these particularly difficult moments in the life of the country."
As a result, ADRA is focusing cholera awareness efforts in various camps in Carrefour, a neighborhood of Port-au-Prince with thousands of displaced persons, a statement from the agency said. ADRA staff and volunteers are using live drama presentations, pamphlets and posters in the local Creole language to instruct residents prevention practices.
In addition, hand sanitizers and a total of 2,880 water purification tabs have been distributed to camp residents.
Cholera is an acute diarrheal infection caused by ingestion of food or water contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio cholera. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), cholera can kill within hours if left untreated. Up to 80 percent of cases can be successfully treated, however, with oral rehydration salts, WHO reported.
In recent days, ADRA also solicited the support of Haiti's National Direction for Potable Water and Sanitation to test the water being provided to displaced persons. Testing confirmed the good quality of the water and its distribution remains unaffected.
In the displaced persons camp, located on the campus of the Haiti Adventist University, ADRA has conducted cholera training for the camp management team and continues to distribute oral rehydration salts in the camp's three remaining inhabited zones where some 500 families live.
In an effort to reduce the effects of the outbreak in hard-hit Artibonite Department located north of the Haitian capital, ADRA and the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Haiti are sending 10 Trekker mobile water purification units to help ease the demand for clean water in the area. Each mobile unit, which is powered by a motorcycle, can purify 63 gallons of water per hour.
Plans are also underway to distribute 30,000 water purification tablets and information flyers in four targeted zones in Artibonite, including the communities of St. Marc, Grande Saline, Marchand, and Verette.
