CARE scales up response in hard-to-reach rural areas, calls for continuous funding of prevention efforts
PORT-AU-PRINCE (January 28, 2011) – 100 days after the first confirmed cases of cholera in Haiti, CARE continues to step up the emergency response in rural areas where death rates are alarmingly high and access to prevention and treatment still difficult. The humanitarian organization also recalls that massive hygiene promotion and delivery of water and sanitation services have helped contain the disease in some areas of the country. Following this positive example, prevention activities must increasingly be focused on remote regions not yet served adequately.
The first cases of cholera were officially confirmed on October 22, meaning that Saturday, January 29 marks the hundredth day of the disease being present in Haiti. According to latest numbers issued by the Haitian Ministry of Health, a total of 194,095 cases of cholera and 3,889 deaths have been reported. “However, we have to assume that the actual numbers are even higher,” notes Beat Rohr, CARE Haiti Country Director. “But regardless the statistical accuracy, it is evident that infection and death rates are still too high, given that from a technical point of view, the disease could easily be prevented and treated. There is no time to slow down. We need to double our efforts but we also need the funding to do so.”
Death rates are much higher in rural areas, where it remains difficult for patients to reach treatment centers in time to obtain life-saving treatment. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that mortality rates in rural areas are far above than the national average of 2 percent of the overall population.
A positive sign is the relative stable situation in camps situated in earthquake-affected areas. The delivery of water, sanitary services and continuous hygiene promotion by CARE and many other humanitarian actors helped contain the spread and minimize fatalities. “But this is no time to congratulate ourselves”, says Rohr. “On the contrary: The example of earthquake-affected areas shows that hygiene promotion and access to clean water are key to prevent more infections. We need to push for more of these services being delivered in rural areas, now that cholera has become a long-term challenge in Haiti.“
To date, CARE has reached more than 420,000 people with hygiene promotion through a network of volunteers and public events. CARE teams continue to deliver water and sanitary services for about 50,000 people in earthquake-affected areas. The humanitarian organization focuses its efforts on the most vulnerable regions in the North (Haut Artibonite and Northwest), the West (Léogâne and Carrefour) and the South-East (Grande Anse) of Haiti. CARE has appealed for a total of 10 million USD and has secured around 40 percent of its target as of today.
For more information or to arrange interviews with staff in Haiti:
Sabine Wilke (in Port-au-Prince): +509 3677 9478, [email protected]
Melanie Brooks (in Geneva): +41 79 590 30 47, [email protected]
Brian Feagans (in Atlanta): +1 404-979-9453, [email protected]
About CARE: Founded in 1945, CARE is one of the world’s largest humanitarian aid agencies. Working side by side with poor people in 72 countries, CARE helps empower communities to address the greatest threats to their survival. Women are at the heart of CARE’s efforts to improve health, education and economic development because experience shows that a woman’s achievements yield dramatic benefits for her entire family. CARE is also committed to providing lifesaving assistance during times of crisis, and helping rebuild safer, stronger communities afterward.