CALL TO ACTION: CHOLERA-FREE HISPANIOLA

HEALTH ORGANIZATIONS JOIN TO HELP PREVENT SPREAD OF CHOLERA IN HAITI
(The Prospector) - By Salvador Guerrero

WASHINGTON - Cholera remains a pandemic on the island of Hispaniola two years after the 2010 Haiti earthquake.

Representatives from health institutes around the globe gathered Jan. 11 at the Pan American Health Organization to discuss the spread of the cholera and what measures need to be taken to combat the infection. The campaign is called Call to Action: A Cholera-Free Hispaniola.

"It is not a surprise that in October of 2010 cholera found a fertile ground," said Kevin M. De Cock, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Center for Global Health. "Just 10 months after the devastating earthquake, it found fertile grounds to develop into one of the largest epidemics in history."

Cholera spreads quickly throughout Haiti and its neighboring country, the Dominican Republic. As of Dec. 25 there have been a reported 7,001 deaths in Haiti and 363 in the Dominican Republic. More than half a million people on Hispaniola have had the disease.

Even with preventive measures in place that promote hygiene education and clean-water programs, officials have yet to stop the outbreak.

"With the implementation of cholera prevention and control strategies, literally thousands of lives have been saved," De Cock said. "However, even with these measures, Haiti continues to see 100 to 200 cholera cases daily, and we must expect surges of as much as 1,000 cases per day with the onset of the rainy season a few months from now."

Sanjay Wijesekera, chief of UNICEF's Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Section, has led the charge against cholera in Hispaniola. He spoke about the need for a stronger water and sanitation infrastructure to help stop the spread of disease.

"Cholera is a disease that defines poverty, and it has done so historically and does so today," Wijesekera said. "The investment in infrastructure is absolutely essential."

Wijesekera's research has found that simple lifestyle changes, such as hand washing, can prevent the diarrheal disease by up to 44 percent. An estimated 21 percent of people in urban areas of Haiti are connected to a water supply. The rest of the population fetches water from the nearest water supply and must store it, which Wijesekera said increases likelihood of water contamination.

Since March 2010, many countries and organizations have committed billions of dollars to help Haiti in its post-earthquake relief efforts. The United States committed more than $3 billion, and the Inter-American Development Bank has committed $63 billion.

"The constant presence of cholera in the region is a matter of importance to all the neighboring countries," said Mirta Roses Periago, director of the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization. "The call of action today is not only to gain control but to kick off cholera from the continent, which is now the stronghold disease in Hispaniola."

Presidents Michael Joseph Martelly of Haiti and Leonel Fernández of the Dominican Republic spoke to the conference via video.