Haiti Cholera Outbreak Update
From our partner, Medical Teams International, on the great work they are doing in Haiti, especially in regards to the recent cholera outbreak.
As you can imagine, there were several developments over the weekend in our response to the cholera crisis in Haiti. This update is designed to inform you all of the good work our staff and volunteers are doing to combat this cholera outbreak, and to give you a better understanding of how to pray for our staff and volunteers in Haiti.
Cholera causes severe diarrhea, vomiting, and dehydration. Left untreated, cholera can be fatal in a matter of hours. Modern sewage and water treatment have virtually eliminated cholera in industrialized countries.
The risk of cholera epidemic is highest when poverty, war or natural disasters force people to live in crowded conditions without adequate sanitation. The last cholera outbreak in Haiti was over 50 years ago.
The outbreak in Haiti started in the rural communities of the L’Artibonite region (about an hour north of Port-au-Prince, the capital). A local river was tested and determined to be contaminated. Cholera is easily treated. Death results from severe dehydration that can be prevented with a simple and inexpensive rehydration solution.
Medical Teams International’s Response Updates:
1. Up to 30 volunteer medical professionals, organized by MTI-Haiti, are living in tents on a beach near the cholera infected area. As a matter of fact, they are about 20 minutes drive from the area. MTI – Haiti has organized a cook and other essential services for the volunteers in order to provide them with everything needed to do their work. MTI is working in up to 4 hospitals taking regular shifts in order to provide quality care to people suffering from cholera.
2. Several partner agencies and expat medical professionals already in Haiti are joining our effort.
3. Volunteer teams continue to serve. One team just arrived and is split up among 4 hospitals. Our staff are being very careful to pace themselves and our volunteers in order to avoid burnout and illness.
4. Supplies – There are enough supplies for the time being. A plane from Miami is bringing in 400 cases of solution, organized by a corps of relief agencies. The Commodity Support Group is working to procure more supplies but will get approval from the field before sending.
5. Dr Yodi Alakija, a cholera specialist for the US who teamed up with MTI, conducted a local radio broadcast for communities on how to prevent contracting and spreading cholera. She was supposed to speak for only 15 minutes, but was on the broadcast for 45 minutes. It was very successful. Education prevention is very important as there is a growing fear that cholera will spread into the many displaced people camps in and around Port-au-Prince following the devastating earthquake. It would be extremely difficult to contain the disease if it enters the camps.
6. International media groups are contacting our team members and staff for interviews. Some have already been interviewed.
7. The Disaster Response Group is busy putting together another team to support this effort. The team will be made up of 1 doctor, 2 nurses, and 2 paramedics. We anticipate this next team to leave within the next couple of days.
8. Our partner, Union of Evangelical Baptists of Haiti (UEBH) is organizing church leaders/ church staff in every town in the L’Artibonite region (where the cholera outbreak is centered) to make sure that those who are showing symptoms of diarrhea and vomiting are sent to a clinic for treatment.
9. The official report is 250 people have died with over 3100 people with the disease. MTI’s country director has heard that the death toll is actually higher, up to 350 people.
Weather Threatens Recovery
We give thanks that Haiti has emerged from the firs two months of hurricane season without the incidence of a major storm.
As the season continues, the chance of severe weather threatens the tenuous stability of 1.5 million Haitians living in makeshift camps. Experts predict three to seven major hurricanes this year.
In partnership with 66 local pastors, World Relief provided 48,000 families with temporary shelter, helping reach the international community’s goal of temporary housing for all Haitians by the onset of hurricane season.
In spite of these successes, overcrowded tent camps pose their own challenges, breeding disease and insecurity. Obstacles such as uncleared rubble and land disputes continue to stymie efforts to ensure more permanent shelter.
As we praise the Lord for the absence of major storms over the past two months, we invite you to continue praying for protection of Haitians and for the work of those laboring alongside our brothers and sisters in Haiti.
*All information from CWR partner, World Relief.
Prayer Update–June 21
• On the day of the earthquake, 20-year-old Pierre stepped outside for a moment while the rest of his family ate dinner inside. A few seconds later, he was the only one of them alive. The other seven members of his family – parents, siblings, grandmother – were crushed to death as their home crumbled on top of them. Please pray for Pierre.
• Recently, a team from Elmbrook Church in Wisconsin traveled to Haiti to comfort earthquake survivors and train local church leaders in trauma counseling. Please pray for churches engaged in trauma counseling, that the Lord would give them strength and the words of comfort and life to share.
• Nearly six months after the quake, Haiti has largely slipped off the world’s radar screen, but hundreds of thousands of Haitians still struggle and much of Port-au-Prince remains in ruins. Ask God to place Haiti on the hearts and minds of His people around the world.
Prayer Requests for May 24
• Please don’t forget Haiti in your prayers. More than four months have passed since the catastrophic earthquake, yet Haiti’s pain and suffering is still intense. As weeks go by and memories fade, ask the Lord to stir His Church to the greatest demonstration of compassion in our time.
• Pray for Pastor Gerald Bataille of the Tabernacle of Glory church in Port-au-Prince. He has served his community tirelessly since the quake. Ask the Lord to give him strength and encourage his spirit.
• Pastor Louis Jean Ricot is one of hundreds of pastors desperate to help his people, many of whom are still living in appalling conditions in makeshift tents. His request: “Please pray for us… we are people of God, you and I.”
Thank you for praying with us.
