IMA and Partners Address Cholera in Haiti

A man washes just outside his home near Port-au-Prince while a second man brushes his teeth. Good hygene is one way to slow the spread of cholera.

Partners commit more than $100,000 to address cholera in Haiti.

Christopher Glass/IMA

According to media reports, the death toll from the cholera outbreak in Haiti has reached more than 1500 people.

IMA World Health has partnered with Lutheran World Relief, the American Baptist Church,  the United Church of Christ (One Great Hour of Sharing) and the Abbott Fund, to spend more than $100,000 in the coming months to help slow the spread of the deadly bacteria.

Cases are turning up in the capital of Port-au-Prince confirming fears of a wide-spread outbreak in the camps housing refugees from the magnitude 7.0 earthquake in January.

The World Health Organization is calling for organizations to prepare for a long-term battle.

"The projections of 200,000 cases over the next six to 12 months show the amplitude of what could be expected," World Health Organization spokesman Gregory Hartl said.

"No one alive in Haiti has experienced cholera before so it is a population which is very susceptible to the bacteria," he said.

IMA World Health and its partners have already sent previous shipments of supplies to the island in an initial response but the need is far from over.

WILL YOU HELP?

Your gifts will be used to deliver:

• antibiotic tablets
• Oral Rehydration Salts (ORS)
• water purification tablets
• latex gloves for health care workers
• bars of antibacterial soap