What's Working: Public Health Progress Since the Haiti 2010 Earthquake

The hardest moment of my 6 years as CDC director was telling the family of Diane Caves, a young professional staff member at CDC, that she had died in the Haiti earthquake. Diane was one of many who lost their lives in this devastating earthquake. The 7.0 magnitude earthquake that hit Haiti in January 2010 killed more than a hundred thousand people and displaced another 1.5 million. It also decimated the country's already fragile health care system, and was followed by a devastating cholera outbreak that affected more than 725,000 people. As a country, Haiti has faced and continues to face enormous difficulties, but it has also proven remarkably resilient. Addressing the public health needs of Haiti and helping them recover has been a daunting task, but it's one that CDC, along with the government of Haiti and other partners, has taken seriously. In Haiti, a trained technician checks a water source for chlorine levels. Photo credit: David Snyder/CDC Foundation And it's working. Over the past five years since the earthquake the country has made real progress. Four particular areas of progress are clean water, HIV prevention and treatment, immunization, and core public health capacity. One of the most important areas of progress has been safer water systems to reduce the spread of cholera and other diseases. Water chlorination programs have been implemented in more than 100 communities, and more than 250 water and sanitation technicians have been trained. This investme...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news