Americares - 2010 Haiti Earthquake (MEDICATION/MEDICAL SUPPLIES-EQUIP./WATER/RELIEF/BABY SUPPLIES)

FROM RELIEF WEB:

As Cholera Spreads Quickly in Haiti AmeriCares Responds With More Aid
Source: AmeriCares Foundation
Date: 12 Nov 2010

Additional shipments of lifesaving medicines being expedited

STAMFORD, CT — AmeriCares, with its team on the ground providing medical aid since cholera was first reported, is readying additional emergency shipments of medicines to Haiti, including both an air and sea shipment, to combat the deadly disease which is spreading quickly and has now reached the capital city of Port-au-Prince.

AmeriCares previous shipments carrying oral rehydration fluids, IV solutions and antibiotics are being dispatched to cholera treatment centers at a high rate as more people become sickened from the waterborne bacteria that spreads through contaminated water. AmeriCares is among the few leading aid organizations partnering with the Ministry of Health to keep cholera treatment centers provisioned.

To help stop the spread of disease, AmeriCares is also delivering a water purification shipment of two million sachets that will purify 5.5 million gallons of water, enough to provide 20,000 families with safe drinking water for weeks.

"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," said Christoph Gorder, senior vice president of global programs for AmeriCares. "With little natural immunity to cholera, the Haitian people are at high risk of serious illness and death."

AmeriCares relief workers have been distributing critical medicines and medical supplies from its warehouse in Port-au-Prince to health care providers on the front lines of the outbreak since October 22, when the first cases of cholera were reported in the Artibonite valley area. As part of AmeriCares emergency response and preparedness plans, antibiotics, oral rehydration solutions, IV sets and other aid were pre-positioned in its Haiti warehouse, ready to be mobilized in the event of such an outbreak. AmeriCares will continue its deliveries of medical assistance to combat this preventable but deadly disease.

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FROM RELIEF WEB:

Rushing Aid to Cholera Victims in Haiti
Source: AmeriCares Foundation
Date: 31 Oct 2010

As a deadly cholera outbreak spreads among some of Haiti's most vulnerable communities, AmeriCares has landed an emergency airlift of critical aid filled with medicines and medical supplies. The airlift is in addition to lifesaving cholera relief supplies already delivered in recent days.

"Given the severity of the cholera outbreak and the concern that it could result in a growing number of cases, AmeriCares quickly assembled and rushed an airlift to Haiti to meet acute needs for more people stricken with the deadly disease," said Christoph Gorder, AmeriCares SVP of Global Programs. "Essential medicines and supplies in the emergency shipment were successfully unloaded and delivered by our Haiti team to our Port-au-Prince warehouse for distribution to our partners; supplies included IV solutions, infection control items, antibiotics and rehydration fluids specially formulated for afflicted children."

In a country plagued by tragedy, more than 330 people have died and over 4,700 people have been hospitalized due to the outbreak. Concentrated in Haiti's Artibonite region, north of Port-au-Prince, health officials are on high alert and are working hard to stop the disease that spreads through water and food contaminated by human waste. Several people in Port-au-Prince have been diagnosed, but it is suspected they were exposed to cholera in the Artibonite. They have been isolated and are being closely monitored.

"People infected with cholera can rapidly lose body fluids and become dangerously dehydrated," said Dr. Frank Bia, AmeriCares Medical Director and expert in infectious diseases. "Without treatment, people can go into shock from low blood pressure or die. In the most severe cases, patients may die within hours of becoming infected."

When news of the outbreak first emerged, AmeriCares began delivering critical medical aid to combat cholera to healthcare providers on the front lines in the Artibonite valley and Port-au-Prince within 24 hours. As part of AmeriCares emergency preparedness plans in Haiti, oral and IV rehydration solutions, antibiotics and other essential medical supplies were already in our Port-au-Prince warehouse.

AmeriCares will also send a sea shipment to provide additional needed items for the cholera epidemic should the epidemic spread and worsen and to replenish emergency supplies.

AmeriCares has already delivered over $30 million in aid to Haiti to help survivors of the devastating January 2010 earthquake. AmeriCares has been working in Haiti since 1984, delivering medicines and supplies to health care providers throughout the country. Those deep roots have enabled our emergency response team to navigate the challenging environment and overcome transportation issues in order to increase access to medicines for the Haitian people in both rural and urban areas.

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FROM THE WEBSITE:

Rushing Aid to Cholera Victims in Haiti
October 25, 2010

http://www.americares.org/newsroom/news/haiti-cholera-outbreak-relief-airlift.html
...
As a deadly cholera outbreak spreads among some of Haiti's most vulnerable communities, AmeriCares is readying an emergency airlift of critical aid filled with medicines and medical supplies. The airlift is in addition to lifesaving cholera relief supplies already delivered in recent days.

"Given the severity of the cholera outbreak and the concern that it could result in a growing number of cases and fatalities, AmeriCares is sending an airlift to meet acute needs for men, women and children stricken with the deadly disease," said Christoph Gorder, AmeriCares SVP of Global Programs. "Essential medicines and supplies being readied for the shipment include IV solutions, infection control items, antibiotics and rehydration fluids specially formulated for afflicted children."