Cholera response
Essential actions, such as handwashing, can save lives.
Essential actions, such as handwashing, can save lives.
Plan is taking urgent action to contain the cholera outbreak that has spread across the country and claimed thousands of lives. Several factors are exacerbating the danger of cholera, including the lack of safe drinking water sources, basic health services and adequate sanitation facilities.
Cholera response team
In light of Plan’s earthquake and cholera response experience in our other programme countries, Plan has mobilised quickly. We deployed a group of experts called “GO TEAM.” The team is made up of medical and public health and water and sanitation specialists from Plan worldwide to bolster the efforts of our in-country team.
Partnerships
Through Plan’s existing strong presence in the communities and strong partnerships with youth groups, non-governmental organisations, Community-Based Organisations (CBOs) and the government of Haiti - built up over the past year in Plan’s earthquake response work - Plan is conducting numerous public health campaigns in camps, schools, health centres, door-to-door and on the streets to promote awareness of good health and hygiene practices to prevent cholera.
So far our cholera prevention and awareness campaigns have reached over 400,000 people.
Action against cholera
We have distributed thousands of water containers with spigots along with water purifying tablets, chlorine, bars of soap and directions for their use in Haitian Creole.
Plan’s trained health workers are establishing cholera treatment units where community members can receive basic care, oral rehydration or intravenous fluids at no cost.
A major component of Plan’s cholera response work will be in continuing to improve the water and sanitation facilities in the camps, schools and health centres.
Children and youth have worked with Plan to produce a very rhythmic song through which they spread prevention messages and encourage people to take urgent and essential actions that can save lives. We are also working on a specific training targeting physically challenged and deaf people who have not been reached yet by most of the awareness raising campaign on cholera.
