Haiti: Mobilization efforts continue to prevent a resurgence of Cholera

In Haiti, cholera still lurks. Despite the absence of new cholera cases in the departments of Grand Anse and South since February 2019, ACTED teams have been visiting the municipalities of the area on a daily basis in order to continue the monitoring and the dissemination of essential messages to prevent a resumption of the epidemic.

With a global downward trend, the cholera epidemic has stopped since 9 months, according to the UN and other official sources. In the West, Central and Artibonite Departments, ACTED and Ministry and Public Health and Population (MPHP) teams remain vigilant. In the departments of Grand Anse and the South, where cholera was widely proliferating, the surveillance seems to have paid off… However, the risks of contamination remain high in view of certain hygiene practices and the lack of infrastructure for sanitation and access to drinking water. In order to avoid a resumption of the epidemic, it is necessary to continue to raise awareness of these issues.

In order to reinforce hygiene messages, MPHP nurses and ACTED team members from Grand’Anse and the South organize daily home visits and activities in markets, schools or public squares. Equipped with panels illustrating good practices, they encourage the participation of the populations by asking questions before reminding them of the key principles to protect themselves from cholera. Messages focus on the importance of water treatment and latrine use, remind people of the need to wash their hands, and explain how to prepare a rehydration serum in case of contamination in order to cut the chain of cholera transmission.

The continuous presence of the outreach teams in the communities aims to anchor the hygiene messages transmitted and to raise awareness among the population about the risks related to cholera. In the department of Grand’Anse and the South, the absence of cases since February 2019 shows the success of the mobilization efforts. People are becoming familiar with methods of protection against the epidemic, and the teams are seeing more and more latrines being installed in people’s homes, which is an essential step for sanitation. Behavioural change must continue to be supported to ensure the continued success of the response.