Haiti Earthquake and Cholera

• January 2010 - Haiti hit by a magnitude 7 earthquake, one of the poorest countries in the world, where 60% of the population lives on less than USD 2.50 a day
• After the earthquake, hundreds of thousands of homeless people were housed in makeshift camps, causing a cholera outbreak in October 2010
• The disease was introduced by Nepalese soldiers, an example of relocation diffusion
• Between October 2010 and November 2014, nearly 720,000 cholera cases were recorded, with 8700 deaths
• The British Red Cross delivered clean drinking water to 300,000 people living in camps in Port-au-Prince
• The British Red Cross built 1300 toilets for 250,000 people
• The British Red Cross provided medical supplies to the main hospital in Saint Marc
• The British Red Cross treated 18,700 cases of cholera in treatment units in the La Piste camp in Port-au-Prince
• The British Red Cross raised awareness among young people on how to avoid infection and of the symptoms of cholera
• The UN admitted their role in the outbreak in 2016, due to leaking sewage pipes at a UN base
• In January 2012, Partners in Health introduced a cholera vaccine, but some public health advocates said that due to multiple doses being needed for so many people, it would be impossible to stop the outbreak
• WASH (Water, Sanitation, Health) facilities could cost upwards of USD 1 billion which was too expensive for Haiti, and the building would take too long
• However, without WASH facilities, cholera would keep coming back
• The lack of effective government in Haiti in October 2010 also caused the high amount of deaths
• Six months after the outbreak there was just one operational waste management site in Port-au-Prince, a city of 3 million people