Since October 2010, the death toll from cholera has reached 6,435. The Haitian Health Ministry places the number of people infected just under 500,000. The mode of transport of cholera from person to person is unclean water; other illnesses profit from untreated water, such as chronic diarrhea, hepatitis, and typhoid fever.
What is so heartbreaking is that not only are these diseases the leading cause of infant mortality and childhood illness, but that these illnesses are preventable. Unfortunately, most Haitians are not able to protect themselves, seeing as how clean water is such a luxury in Haiti. This is why we are invested in providing potable water to as many people as we can, because it saves lives and improves well-being.
Our chlorination systems are trusted; 90 percent of households in neighborhoods that we serve get their water from our chlorinated water tanks, and 91 percent of our beneficiaries trust that water treated by our chlorinators is safe to drink.
Last month, we installed chlorinators in 16 schools and five new communities.
The schools are located in: Pétion-Ville, Delmas, Croix-des-Bouquets, Petit-Goâve, Thomazeu, and Aquin.
The communities that now have access to potable water are Fontaine I, Fontaine II, Fontaine III, Fontaine IV, and Fontaine V.
Thanks to our chlorinators an additional 55,000 people are now protected from waterborne illnesses.