Combat Haiti's Spreading Cholera Crisis

For the past four years, Haiti has been trapped in a horrible cholera epidemic, one that has been labeled the worst cholera epidemic in recent history. This epidemic has already claimed around 8,300 lives and has infected hundreds of thousands more. But, how did this all start? Cholera is spread through infected human waste; in this case, it started with waste from a UN Peacekeeping camp that entered the water supply. When this happened, anyone who came into contact with the water supply was at risk of contracting cholera. All of this is exacerbated in a country like Haiti where public hygiene, sanitation, waste management, and proper sewage disposal are almost nonexistent. This disease spreads exceptionally fast and can kill within hours if not diagnosed. Because of this, it is extremely difficult to contain and remains a huge threat to Haitians.

However, there are things that can be done to try to contain the spread of cholera. The most important action to take is to ensure that the water supply is clean and kept separate from any human waste. With these objectives in mind, International Action is committed to preventing the spread of cholera by providing clean water to the people of Haiti. We do this by using cheap, sustainable, and effective chlorinators to decontaminate the water so that people may drink it without fear of becoming infected. These chlorinators are long term solutions that we are hoping to make even more sustainable by creating a system that allows the maintenance of these chlorinators to be community led. Already, we have brought clean water to over 300,000 Haitians who are now able to go to school or work on a regular basis because they are not constantly ill. It is our hope that by bringing an uncontaminated water supply to Haiti, we can help eradicate cholera in that area.