Cholera in Haiti – Collateral Damage Deaths Due To Inaction

Cholera in Haiti Collateral Damage Deaths Due To Inaction

Even still, it is the lack of coordinated response from the US and other donor nations to a completely preventable situation - that is perhaps the most difficult to comprehend.

Already, some $3.4 billion in humanitarian aid already "sent" to Haiti. But why is it taking so long to be put to use? Where is it going? And why is Nigel Fisher, a top U.N. humanitarian coordinator making comments such as, "As hard as it is to believe, Haiti still needs soap. They have many needs, but soap - and access to clean water - is absolutely essential to fight cholera."

Provision of safe water and sanitation and refrigeration of vaccines are critical in reducing the impact of cholera and other waterborne diseases and readily available/commercial-off-the-shelf solutions currently exist. For example, DynGlobal, a US small business, manufactures solar powered water purification units that could be easily installed in Haiti (www.dynglobal.com). I had first hand experience of installing several of their units recently in the Democratic Republic of CongoJust one self-contained solar powered DynGlobal unit was capable of purifying 6,500 gallons of clean water from a 70 foot deep bore hole well, process the water and pump the water about 2,000 feet to a distribution tank placed on a hill - each day. The units require no power from the grid, no operator or daily maintenance, and can purify water containing viruses, bacteria, and heavy metals (e.g. lead and arsenic) nondetectable levels.

Another product that would be a good fit for the situation in Haiti is the SunFrost solar-powered vaccine storage and refrigeration (www.sunfrost.com). These units have already been deployed throughout the world in over 50 countries and have a proven track record of providing reliable, energy efficient, off-grid refrigeration. Being that over half of the vaccines are ruined in the developing world due to inadequacy of and lateness of diesel fuel supplies for traditional medical refrigerators, utilizing such existing technology is critical.

Quite frankly, I am not surprised that violent protests between Haitians and UN peacekeepers have recently broken outthey are wondering why $3.4 billion has been pledged and necessities such as clean water are still out of reach to the victims.

The Haitians have already taken two steps back since the January earthquake. On Nov. 12, the United Nations requested another $164 million from charities and donors to help fight Haiti's cholera outbreak. We need to ensure that this money is put to use on the basics: soap and clean water.

Are the Haitian victims simply "collateral damage" caused by inaction?

We can help the Haitians take one step forward but we must start to be proactive instead of continuing our unsuccessful reactive and uncoordinated approach. The technology and knowledge of how to help prevent Cholera is available. But, I wonder if there is a real will to do so.

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