The need is overwhelming,”
—Nancy Smith, logistics manager for
Samaritan’s Purse in Haiti
AmeriCares Haiti is determined to save as many lives as possible in the fight against cholera, mobilizing
an immediate response to a sharp increase in cases with rush deliveries of medicines
and supplies to meet urgent requests from health care partners.
Help AmeriCares fight cholera and save lives in Haiti and around the world. »
Cholera is treatable, but without prompt
intervention the disease can kill quickly, making rapid response especially
crucial to saving lives. The disease has claimed more than 5,200 lives among
the 300,000+ cases reported in Haiti thus far.
“We’ve
stepped up our cholera prevention work for many months in preparation for the
rainy season, which creates a fertile breeding ground for the disease,” said
Brian Hoyer, AmeriCares Haiti Country Director. “At the same time, we’ve kept well-stocked
with supplies in anticipation of rising demands.”
Hoyer
explained that many cholera treatment centers have reduced or halted operations
as caseloads declined and funding was depleted. This left few centers prepared
for the rapid spike in cases.
Lifesaving
Response, Proactive Prevention Programs
The large 240-bed treatment center run by Samaritan’s Purse filled to
near-capacity overnight, as some treatment
centers throughout the country -- including Medicins Sans Frontier’s center in Carrefour -- have been inundated with more new
patients than they could handle.
“We’ve
increased from 50 to about 200 patients overnight. The need is overwhelming,” said
Nancy Smith, logistics director for Samaritan’s Purse. The AmeriCares
shipment included $33,000 in rehydration salts,
solution sets, lactated ringers IVs and catheters, sanitizer, gloves, and doxycycline
to replenish exhausted supplies.
“Samaritan’s Purse is just one of many of our partners who
have contacted us with emergency needs to keep up with the patient load,” said
Hoyer. “We’ve also been proactively trying to prevent incidence of disease in
the first place, particularly in hard-to-reach rural communities.”
Photo by Nadia Todres. All Rights Reserved.
AmeriCares
recently partnered with the Haitian Health Foundation in Grand Anse to
re-launch a rural outreach project aimed at health education and rapid
rehydration in communities where the mortality rate was among the worst during
the height of the outbreak. Also in May, AmeriCares distributed 500 hygiene kits
to benefit 2,500 people in Baradères and other rural communities to safeguard
against severe infection.
Our in-country presence, quick response
and demonstrated ability to deliver large volumes of supplies has positioned AmeriCares Haiti as
one of a handful of organizations that can effectively meet national needs in
the ongoing cholera crisis. Since October, 2010, we’ve sent $4.9 million in cholera
aid to Haiti, working with 47 partners, including the Ministry of Health, to
help drive mortality rates from nearly 7 percent at the onset to 1.7 percent at
present.
