Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) conditions in Port-au-Prince were not good even before the devastating January 2010 earthquake.  Perversely, the poor often paid the most for drinking water.  Against this backdrop, a number of international organizations and non-governmental organizations are working with the Haitian government to help establish a more effective and equitable water system.  One of these non governmental organizations, International Action, has been involved with water related issues in Haiti since 2006.  Below is an update as to their latest activities. Read more »

On Wednesday, January 12th, the American Medical Association, the National Institutes of Health, the National Disaster Life Support Foundation Inc. and Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness will host a free webinar on the current status of public health and health care in Haiti, including the ongoing cholera response.  More information follows.  You can register for the event by clicking here.  Read more »

Haiti is in the midst of a cholera outbreak, the origin of which is and may remain unclear.  We live in a mobile world and the source could be Africa, Asia, South America, or it may have already been in the environment.  Where it came from is less important than the fact that Haiti, and especially the poorest of the poor, will always be vulnerable without clean water, adequate sanitation, and good hygiene.  This is an update on the current cholera emergency and a reflection on actions that can prevent this from happening again. Read more »

March 22 is World Water Day.  Growing up, like many others, I did not appreciate how lucky I was to have clean, safe water.  We need it to drink and become sick if we do not have it.  We need it for agriculture and would become hungry without it.  We need it for washing, bathing, and clean health care facilities.  Likewise we need sanitation and hygiene to protect food, water, and health.  One billion people around the world still lack clean drinking water and 2.6 billion lack access to basic sanitation.  It doesn’t have to be this way.  World Water Day is an opportunity to ask what we can do in the year ahead to address the world's water crisis.  Read more »

World Water Day has come and gone.  About 1.1 billion people still do not have access to safe drinking water, and two in every five people on the planet still have no access to a proper toilet.   The international community has become increasingly aware of the disastrous consequences of the status quo for public health and economic growth.  It will take more than awareness to change the current situation - it will also take political will, long term committment, and a new approach. Read more »

Every March 22nd since 1992 has been World Water Day.  This year's theme is "Shared Waters and Shared Opportunities."  4,200 children die each day from preventable water-borne disease.  Responding is not just a moral imperative, but sound economics.  For each dollar spent on water and sanitation projects, the projected return on investment is from $3 to $34.  For too many of us, a glass of contaminated water can mean the difference between life and death.  You can help change this by taking part in the TAP Project during World Water Week.  Read more »

On the outskirts of Les Cayes several years ago, I came across a school with a bio-latrine that used airless digestion to transform human waste into gas suitable for cooking, heating and lighting.  After one month, there was enough gas being produced to cook a meal for all of the students in this fairly large school, without using environmentally destructive wood charcoal. The gas is without odor and, beyond the initial investment, without cost.  The experiences of other low resource countries might hold lessons for the potential scale up of this innovation in Haiti.  Read more »

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) is very active in Haiti, particularly in the sectors of  water/sanitation and nutrition.   UNICEF recently released their annual Humanitarian Action Report.  It is intended for donors, but if you are interested in knowing what UNICEF did in Haiti during 2008 and seeks to accomplish in 2009, this is a good place to start.  The Haiti section is copied below. Read more »

Below is a blog we received concerning International Action's campaign to make access to clean water a reality throughout Port au Prince. Their approach is to provide cost effective tablet chlorinators and to build the capacity of community members to manage them. After reading the blog below, take a look at their website and this short video clip about their work.  If you would like to stay updated, you can also sign up for their e-newsletter.  There are ample opportunities to support their work whether as a donor, an intern, or a volunteer.  Read more »

The World Health Organization (WHO) recently released an interesting and easy to understand guide on the relationship between investments in water/sanitation/hygiene (WASH) and public health.  The international community, and Haiti Innovation included, have been paying a lot of attention to food security.  However, children with diarrhoea from poor water are not able to absorb nutrients, are more likely to become malnourished, and subsequently come down with a life threatening disease. Worldwide 1.4 million children a year die (6,000 a day) die from diarrhoea.  In Haiti, 10% of all deaths are estimated to be water-related.   Access to water, sanitation and hygiene, together are key to promoting public health in Haiti and elsewhere.   Read more »