Medical Teams International » how to fight a killer

The cholera epidemic in Haiti is the worst in recent history. At its peak this spring, the disease spread at an average rate of one newly infected person every minute. Every two hours, a person infected with cholera died.

But from this tragedy arose true heroes.

I wanted to share with you the story of one of them. Rosemy Lolange joined us as the head nurse of our Cholera Treatment Center in Mirebalais in August. In that brief time, she has already made a remarkable difference.

Rosemy took some time out to share the story of her life-saving work with you. Watch our video now:

Watch this video

http://www.pih.org/cholera-video

Sadly, nature is working against Rosemy and her colleagues.

With hurricane season still a factor in Haiti, the threat remains for dramatic rain and floods to cause yet another wave of cholera infections throughout the country.

Under current conditions, cholera risks taking hold as yet another preventable disease killing Haitians needlessly on a daily basis.

Cholera can kill within 24 hours of infection, so we need to do more than just treat it where it occurs; we need to do whatever it takes to track and then stop the disease from spreading.

We're just a few weeks into an innovative pilot program that uses mobile phones to empower local community health workers to track new cases of cholera throughout Haiti's Central Plateau. This up-to-date information will help effectively deploy resources and stop the disease in its tracks.

This cholera epidemic is one of the biggest challenges we've ever faced in Haiti. That's why we continue to invest in smart systems and processes so that we can best deal with the current high-risk period. We're committed to maximizing every dollar and to saving every life that we can.

I'll be in touch shortly to brief you further and to explain how you can help fight cholera in this crucial moment for Haiti. For now, though, please watch this video about the remarkable work Rosemy (and all of our team in Haiti) are achieving thanks to the generosity and commitment of our friends:

http://www.pih.org/cholera-video

Thank you again for supporting PIH -- your support is the foundation of our success.

Ted Constan
Chief Operating Officer
Partners In Health