Two GlobalMedic RRT members arrived in Port-au-Prince today. The team will spend the next few weeks working with local partner ADRA Haiti to prepare for the distribution of 1652 Rainfresh household water purification units which will be distributed to individual families and schools. These units will provide approximately 11,500 people with access to clean drinking water for the next 12 months.
Additionally, the RRT will be preparing 2 sites for the installation of 2 schools that will be built by a GlobalMedic team in September. These schools will provide children with access to a long term, safe learning space.
January 2011
GlobalMedic and local Haitian NGO partner ADRA Haiti are in the process of distributing 500 Rainfresh household water purification units in Carrefour and Port-au-Prince. We are distributing the units in a two phase process that includes distribution to victims of the earthquake and cholera epidemic in transitional shelters which they have been housed in after moving out of relief camps, as well as in schools to provide children with clean drinking water. The program providing schools with clean drinking water is being run in partnership with ADRA Haiti and UNICEF. In addition to providing the schools with clean drinking water, the children are also being educated on the cholera prevention techniques including proper hand washing methods as well as the importance of drinking clean water to long term health.
In total, GlobalMedic has 3000 Rainfresh household water purification units currently dedicated to Haiti to provide clean drinking water to earthquake and cholera beneficiaries. We are working to increase this program to a total of 20,000 families that will receive clean drinking water, or approximately 130,000 people.
Update - November 25, 2010
The recent outbreak of cholera has now claimed 1400 lives with 20,000 patients being treated in the past 5 weeks. The UN projects that the number of cases could rise to over 100,000. The outbreak has now spread into 8 of the country's 10 provinces, with some cases also being discovered across the border in the Dominican Republic.
There is a need for clean drinking water, as the consumption of contaminated drinking water is one of the primary means of contracting cholera. As a result, the need for additional water purification units is key to preventing the spread of disease throughout Haiti.
As a result, GlobalMedic has deployed a team to respond to the crisis. The team is working with local partner ADRA Haiti to install 20 Trekker water purification units in Artibonite region and in Port-au-Prince. Additionally, they are distributing 500 Rainfresh household water purification units. Each one of these units will be donated to a family and will provide that family with clean drinking water for the next 12 months. The units require no moving parts and are very simple for beneficiaries to maintain. As well, GlobalMedic also deployed 250,000 water purification tablets, of which 50,000 will be distributed in Jacmel by one of our Rapid Response Team members who deployed to Haiti in response to the Hurricanes in Gonaives in August 2008. These 50,000 water purification tablets, along with a set of replacement Trekker filters, will be distributed to an organization that works with women who suffer from domestic violence in Jacmel.
November 20, 2010
A recent outbreak of cholera has occurred in the Artibonite region of Haiti. To date there have been 1180 deaths and 20,000 cases have been treated. The overall population of the region is 435,540. The outbreak has now spread into 8 of the country's 10 provinces, with some cases also being discovered across the border in the Dominican Republic.
GlobalMedic has worked extensively in Haiti in the aftermath of the earthquake, as well as in past missions including the Hurricane response in Gonaives in 2008. During the earthquake emergency response we provided over 10 million litres of clean drinking water treated 7000 patients medically.
