AmeriCares, with its crew on the ground providing medical services since cholera struck, is preparing more emergency shipments of medicines to Haiti. These will be sent by both air and water, to fight the deadly disease which is spreading rapidly and has now reached Port-au-Prince, the capital city.
In order to halt the spread of cholera, AmeriCares is also sending a water purification shipment of two million sachets to purify 5.5 million gallons of water. This can provide 20,000 families with safe drinking water for several weeks.
Christoph Gorder, senior vice president of global programs for AmeriCares said “Now that cholera cases are being reported in Port-au-Prince, the outbreak could easily spread to the earthquake survivor camps where more than a million people are still homeless.” “With little natural immunity to cholera, Haitians have a high risk of serious illness and death.”