haiti « American Red Cross Disaster Newsroom

Press Release: American Red Cross Announces $7.4 Million for Cholera Programs in Haiti

February 1, 2011

American Red Cross Announces $7.4 Million for Cholera Programs in Haiti

Port-au-Prince, Tuesday, February 1, 2011 – Stepping up its response to a cholera outbreak that continues to claim lives in Haiti, the American Red Cross today announced an additional $7.4 million in cholera-related programs and partnerships.

With these new cholera prevention and treatment programs, which will be implemented across the country, the American Red Cross has now spent and signed agreements to spend over $11.4 million – part of its commitment to spend a total of $14.4 million to support cholera programs in Haiti.

The Haitian Ministry of Health reports more than 4,000 dead and more than 209,000 cases as a result of the outbreak, which began in late October. Three months later, the mortality rate has fallen but new cases continue to be reported, particularly in rural areas of the country. The new programs and partnerships target vulnerable communities in multiple regions.

The American Red Cross will directly implement more than $4.3 million of new cholera-related programs, including:

Expansion of an existing program of educational outreach to vulnerable communities through teams of hygiene promoters. Working in partnership with the Haitian Red Cross, the American Red Cross will manage more than 500 Red Cross hygiene promoters. Their goal is to reach more than 377,000 households by the end of 2011 with a focus on cholera prevention, as well as distribution of supplies that will help stem the spread of the disease, including soap, aquatabs and oral rehydration salts (ORS).
Establishment of 250 posts/distribution points within communities for ongoing provision of the oral rehydration salts.
Training of 1,500 Haitian Red Cross volunteers to administer these posts/distribution points.
Referral of suspected cholera cases to cholera treatment facilities.

Haiti: One Year Report

January 4, 2011

View this document on Scribd

Leave a Comment » | Haiti earthquake (Jan. 2010), International Updates | Tagged: aid, earthquake, haiti, haitian, humanitarian, international, red cross | Permalink
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Press Release: Red Cross Supports Pan American Health Organization with $1.5 Million in Medicine and Supplies for Cholera Response

December 17, 2010

Red Cross Supports Pan American Health Organization with $1.5 Million in Medicine and Supplies for Cholera Response

WASHINGTON, Friday, December 17 – In response to the growing cholera epidemic in Haiti, the American Red Cross announced today it is donating $1.5 million to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) to purchase, ship, store and distribute IV fluids and other essential supplies.

This action comes as the number of cholera cases in Haiti has now exceeded 100,000. Funds will provide 250,000 liters of Ringer’s Lactate solution, an IV fluid that helps to keep cholera patients hydrated; 15,000 units of erythromycin, an antibiotic; as well as catheters and gloves to help nurses and physicians provide lifesaving medical care.

“The American Red Cross is ensuring that essential medical supplies for the cholera response continue to arrive in Haiti,” says PAHO Director Mirta Roses Periago. “This cholera epidemic is expected to reach hundreds of thousands of people in coming months, and we need the coordinated and generous support of organizations like the Red Cross to meet these demands.”

Once they arrive in Port-au-Prince, these supplies will be available for immediate distribution in coordination with Haiti’s Ministry of Public Health and Population.

The American Red Cross has already purchased nearly 900,000 sachets of oral rehydration solution, in addition to millions of chlorine tablets to treat water making it safe to drink, soap to ensure basic hygiene, and other health and hygiene-related items.

“We have spent millions of dollars in an aggressive response to the spread of cholera,” says Ricardo Caivano, country representative for the American Red Cross in Haiti. “Now, we are further scaling up our response to cholera prevention and treatment, including expanding the geographical scope of our activities.”

The American Red Cross has been actively working to educate Haitians about proper preventive measures, reaching more than 100,000 Haitians in Port-au-Prince by going tent-to-tent with cholera prevention tips. The global Red Cross network is also supplying clean drinkable water to more than three hundred thousand people every day.

Meanwhile, PAHO/WHO continues to ensure the availability of intravenous solutions, oral rehydration salts and antibiotics.

PAHO/WHO has been coordinating with a number of on-the-ground organizations including the global Red Cross network, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and Doctors without Borders (MSF) to revise estimates and ensure enough supplies are available.

Thanks to the generosity of the American people following the January earthquake, the American Red Cross anticipates having the funds necessary to respond to unexpected emergencies in Haiti including this cholera epidemic. More information on American Red Cross activities and programs can be found at www.redcross.org/haiti.

Leave a Comment » | Haiti earthquake (Jan. 2010), International Updates, Press Release | Tagged: haiti, red cross | Permalink
Posted by amrecro

Video: Red Cross Response to Cholera in Haiti

December 15, 2010

Gail McGovern, President and CEO, American Red Cross, speaks about the Red Cross Response.

Leave a Comment » | Haiti earthquake (Jan. 2010), International Updates, Videos | Tagged: cholera, earthquake, haiti, health, red cross | Permalink
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Press Release: American Red Cross Commits Additional $2 Million to Combat Cholera in Haiti

November 29, 2010

American Red Cross Commits Additional $2 Million to Combat Cholera in Haiti

NOVEMBER 29, 2010 – The American Red Cross announced today it is committing an additional $2 million to combat an escalating cholera epidemic in Haiti that has killed more than 1,700 people and sickened more than 75,000.

The funds will be used to purchase much-needed supplies, including 40 million chlorine tabs, 3 million pieces of soap, and 140,000 oral rehydration solution sachets, as well as tens of thousands of buckets, jerry cans and water purification sachets. These items will be distributed in coming weeks.

The new contribution increases the total American Red Cross support for the cholera response to date to more than $3.3 million. The American Red Cross contribution is part of a broad response to the cholera outbreak by the global Red Cross network, which includes hygiene promotion, water and sanitation services and provision of medical supplies.

“This multi-faceted response is urgently needed to save lives,” said David Meltzer, senior vice president of International Services at the American Red Cross. “The Red Cross is engaged on multiple levels – from leading cholera prevention activities in camps such as hygiene promotion to educate thousands of Haitian earthquake survivors, to funding treatment facilities and bringing desperately needed supplies into Haiti. And we are prepared to do much more in the days and weeks to come.”

Since the cholera outbreak began last month, the American Red Cross has provided 5,000 cots for use in health centers operated by Partners in Health, Project Medishare and the Haitian Ministry of Health. At the request of the Haitian Ministry of Health, the American Red Cross has also purchased 250,000 sachets of oral rehydration solution, an essential supplement to combat the rapid dehydration from cholera which can lead to a patient’s death.

As the number of cholera cases grows, the Red Cross is trying to prevent the crisis from crossing borders.

Video: Visit to Red Cross Cholera Treatment Center

November 29, 2010

As of November 29, 2010, the American Red Cross has contributed more than $3.3 million to combat the growing cholera epidemic. Learn more about ongoing Red Cross relief and recovery after the Haiti earthquake, as well as cholera response and prevention work, by visiting www.redcross.org/haiti.

1 Comment | Haiti earthquake (Jan. 2010), International Updates, Videos | Tagged: cholera, earthquake, haiti, red cross, update | Permalink
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Photos: Haiti, Hurricane Tomas, Healing Hands for Haiti

November 10, 2010

See entire “Hurricane Tomas Haiti 2010″ set on Flickr >>

See entire “Medishare hospital Haiti 2010″ set n Flickr >>

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Disaster Update: Cholera in Haiti

November 9, 2010

Disaster Update

While Haiti was spared the worst feared impacts of Hurricane Tomas over the weekend, the storm brought heavy rains and flooding to other parts of the country, including the area north of Port-au-Prince that is the center of a serious cholera outbreak.

The Red Cross among other aid organizations is concerned that the outbreak will spread and is therefore continuing large-scale cholera prevention and response activities in the affected region and Port-au-Prince.

Flooding poses a new threat from this water-borne disease and officials from the Haitian Ministry of Health reported on Monday that the number of cholera deaths had risen to 544 over the weekend, with more than 8,000 people hospitalized for the disease. Late Monday, reports surfaced that a new batch of potential cholera cases had surfaced in Port-au-Prince and were being tested. Another reason for a possible spread of cholera is the fact that an untold number of people in the capital and countryside evacuated their homes ahead of the hurricane and moved to other parts of the country.

To combat this epidemic, the Red Cross global network has established a cholera treatment center in Arcahie, northwest of Port-au-Prince, to respond to the growing epidemic that threatens millions of Haitians, and plans two additional cholera treatment centers in other parts of the country.

The Red Cross has been working for months to educate the camp populations about health and good hygiene, and has further ramped up those efforts with the cholera outbreak. Health promotion teams have temporarily doubled in size, to about 200 promoters, and the Red Cross expects to directly reach hundreds of thousands of people with cholera prevention messages within a month.

These face-to-face interactions have been reinforced by millions of text messages sent to about 380,000 cell phone users by the Red Cross network, as well as radio broadcasts.