World Vision responds to cholera outbreak in Haiti
World Vision is responding to an outbreak of cholera in central Haiti.
More than 250 people have died and hundreds more have been hospitalised following the outbreak in the Central Plateau region, north of the capital, Port-au-Prince.
World Vision has sent urgently needed medical supplies, including rehydration fluids, water treatments and medicines, to support hospitals and clinics in the affected area.
Hospitals have been overwhelmed by patients, with many of the sick forced to wait outside for treatment.
"While we can’t be sure the direction this will take, we’re preparing for challenging weeks ahead,” said World Vision’s Sabrina Pourmand Nolen in Port-au-Prince.
"Right now, the priority is to continue doing everything we can to stop the spread of this fast-moving disease."
Camps
World Vision is sending water and sanitation experts to the affected region to do assessments of the situation. In the meantime, aid workers are taking immediate preventative steps in the temporary camps housing tens of thousands of people around the capital following January’s earthquake.
This includes a mass distribution of soap in Port-au-Prince, as well as cleaning and desludging all of the latrines in camps where the organisation is present.
Hygeine
Staff are also continuing to check the chlorination levels on all water that they supply. Additional hand washing stations are being installed in camps, and World Vision is educating residents on the importance of hand washing and hygiene.
World Vision’s health manager in Port-au-Prince, Dr. Reginald Lubin, noted that cholera is caused by a bacterial infection which can cause people to lose more than 30 litres of fluid in a single day.
"If this hits our camps, we are going to need a lot of support. It could spread very rapidly; we must be ready to react immediately. "This is why we are stepping up prevention efforts, pre-positioning supplies and establishing contingency plans,” said Lubin.