CHOLERA FACT SHEET #21

HAITI - CHOLERA FACT SHEET #21, FISCAL YEAR (FY) 2011
(ReliefWeb) - Source: United States Agency for International Development (USAID)

Date: 25 Feb 2011
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KEY DEVELOPMENTS:

- USAID Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA) grantees are closely monitoring the cholera situation as Carnival festivities begin in different parts of the country. According to the Government of Haiti (GoH) Ministry of Public Health and Population (MSPP), Carnival increases the risk of cholera transmission through the ingestion of contaminated food and beverages at street fairs. MSPP continues to emphasize the need for expanded cholera messaging during Carnival, as well as increased access to latrines and hand washing acilities.

Cholera response organizations report that cholera treatment facilities (CTFs) throughout Haiti are well prepared for a possible increase in cholera cases during Carnival.

- On February 23, USAID/OFDA Director Mark Bartolini and the USAID/OFDA Senior Regional Advisor (SRA) for Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) Tim Callaghan traveled to Haiti to visit ongoing cholera and earthquake projects and discuss contingency planning activities in advance of the rainy season—which begins in April.

On February 24, Director Bartolini met with several USAID/OFDA grantees, USAID/OFDA program office staff, the U.S. Ambassador to Haiti, the Deputy Chief of Mission, and the USAID/Haiti Mission Director, to discuss ongoing emergency response activities, operational challenges, and the transition to medium and long-term development activities.

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NUMBERS AT A GLANCE SOURCE:

Overall Cholera Caseload - 241,360

Hospitalized Cases - 130,545

Deaths Due to Cholera - 4,573

Total USAID Humanitarian Assistance to Haiti for Cholera ........................................................................... $44,888,979

CONTEXT:

On October 22, U.S. Ambassador Kenneth H. Merten issued a disaster declaration due to the cholera outbreak. On October 26, USAID deployed a Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) to coordinate USAID/OFDA emergency response efforts with USAID/Haiti, USAID/OTI, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); provide technical assistance to the MSPP; and support relief agencies’ response activities. USAID also stood up a
Response Management Team (RMT) in Washington, D.C., to support the USAID/DART in Haiti and coordinate with the USAID Haiti Task Team (HTT). The USAID/DART transitioned to a Haiti program office on January 27 and the RMT transitioned to a LAC expanded regional team on January 28.

USAID/OFDA’s emergency cholera response plan focused on preventing cholera cases, reducing the number of cases requiring hospitalization, and reducing the CFR. The plan included four elements: provision of chlorine to increase availability of safe drinking water; expansion of national hygiene education outreach; provision of sachets of oral rehydration salts (ORS) and medical supplies; and an increase in the number of CTFs, particularly in underserved and
rural areas.

USAID/OFDA recognizes that cholera will likely remain present in Haiti for several years and that the rainy and hurricane seasons may cause additional caseload spikes. USAID/OFDA program office staff remain in Haiti to monitor the evolving humanitarian situation, enhance coordination, monitor ongoing USAID/OFDA-funded response activities, and adjust programming in response to evolving conditions on the ground. USAID/OFDA is working
closely with USAID/Haiti, USAID/OTI, CDC, and the humanitarian community to coordinate efforts and facilitate a smooth transition from emergency relief activities to development programming.

Health and Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH)
The MSPP requested that Health Cluster—the coordinating body for health activities—members identify health centers and CTFs located in areas of potential flooding prior to the rainy season. MSPP and cluster members are planning to conduct flood prevention and mitigation activities in and around the facilities to ensure proper case management during the rainy season, when a spike in cholera cases may occur.

Director Bartolini and SRA Callaghan visited a USAID/OFDA-funded CTF operated by Partners in Health (PIH) at Ancien Aeroport Militaire camp to discuss the cholera response to date and outstanding issues. Since the cholera outbreak began, PIH has treated more than 3,000 patients at the CTF. However, the caseload of approximately 80 patients per day at the start of the outbreak has fallen to approximately 15 to 20 patients per day at present—consistent with the overall trend of a decreasing daily caseload in all of Haiti’s 10 departments. The CTF serves the 52,000- person camp and surrounding neighborhoods, and currently employs six medical doctors, 16 nurses, and 24 community health workers, who promote hygiene, distribute educational materials, and decontaminate affected dwellings in the camp.

Logistics

In preparation for any potential future spike in cholera cases, MSPP has asked all organizations carrying out health activities to provide information on available stocks of cholera-related supplies in each department. In discussions with USAID/OFDA staff, organizations involved in the cholera response report that CTFs throughout Haiti are well prepared for a possible increase in cholera caseload during Carnival. The International Organization for Migration (IOM), the consignee for USAID/OFDA cholera supplies, confirmed that more than 362,000 liters of lactated Ringer’s intravenous solution, 2.2 million ORS sachets, and 417,000 aquatabs funded by USAID/OFDA remained in IOM warehouses as of February 22 and available for distribution to CTFs, when needed.

The Essential Medicines Program, managed by USAID/OFDA grantees the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) / U.N. World Health Organization (WHO) at the Program on Essential Medicine and Supplies (PROMESS) warehouse, will be distributing emergency kits to all 10 departments prior to the beginning of the rainy season.

According to the Health Cluster, the PROMESS warehouse currently has a stock of 1,140 basic heath kits, each containing three months of basic medicines for 1,000 people. PROMESS also has eight emergency health kits in stock, each containing three months of medical supplies for approximately 10,000 people.

PROMESS has sufficient supplies, including those in the logistics pipeline, to treat more than 92,000 severe cholera cases, including an additional 4.5 million sachets of ORS. According to the Health Cluster, two cholera kits have also been prepositioned at the warehouse, each containing enough medical and WASH supplies to establish and support a 10-bed CTF. According to IOM,
the GoH has also ordered an additional 900,000 liters of lactated Ringer’s intravenous solution.

For More Information:

The Center for International Disaster Information: http://www.cidi.org/

Information on relief activities of the humanitarian community can be found at http://www.reliefweb.int/

USAID/OFDA bulletins appear on the USAID web site at:
http://www.usaid.gov/our_work/humanitarian_assistance/disaster_assistance/