In October 2022, after a period of over three years with no newly confirmed cases, Haiti’s West Department experienced a resurgence of cholera, making it the epicenter of the outbreak. On February 6, 2023, an alert was issued by the Département Sanitaire de l'Ouest (DSO) in response to a rapid increase in cases on La Gonâve, an island within the bay of Port-Au-Prince.
August 2023
As part of its support to Haiti’s Ministry of Health and Population's (MSPP) cholera response, PAHO/WHO worked with local authorities to coordinate a logistical operation and strengthen patient care facilities on the island, particularly in the communes of Pointe à Raquette and Anse à Galets.
La Gonâve is a hilly island with limited access to infrastructure including water. The absence of a regular ferry service make it difficult to access, a factor which is further compounded by the security situation in the nation’s capital, which impedes transport.
To ensure the rapid delivery of emergency medical supplies and equipment, PAHO/WHO looked for partners to speed up the response and signed a memorandum of understanding with the NGO Humanité Inclusion and its Mer Logistique et Urgence Haiti (MERLUH) project. Thanks to MERLUH’s fleet, "we were able to rapidly deploy more than 6 tonnes of equipment and medicines essential for the management and treatment of cholera cases on the island," Jude Romain, Health Logistics Technician for the health emergency program at the PAHO/WHO office in Haiti said.
PAHO/WHO specialists also carried out several missions to assess patient care facilities in operation on the island, including the two Centers for the Treatment of Acute Diarrhea (CTDA) at Pointe à Raquette and Anse à Galets.
During these visits, PAHO experts identified numerous measures to reinforce the quality of care in these CTDAs, particularly for improving Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) standards. These included recommendations to establish showers and latrines for personnel and to provide a hand-washing station at the CDTA exit. The mission also highlighted the need to install a new CTDA in the communal section of Gros Mangles, which experienced a significant increase in the number of cases.
A second mission was organized to set up the new CTDA and train the team on-site. A tent was erected with hand-washing facilities, footbaths at entrance and exit points, and separate showers for men and women. Other improvements included the repair of the access road and the construction of waste pits. "Through the installation of this new CTDA, our aim is to provide rapid access to medical care. Rapid response when treating patients is of paramount importance, as it can significantly reduce the severity of symptoms, prevent complications, and save lives," Dr. Paul Valery, Epidemiologist at the Département Sanitaire de L'Ouest said.
A series of staff training sessions on WASH and medical management of patients was also organized to strengthen the capacity of medical teams. As a result, the new CTDA staff is better equipped to prevent the spread of the disease, rapidly identify suspected cases, provide appropriate treatment, and collect essential data for an accurate assessment of the situation to facilitate decision-making.
Since October 2022, the MSPP's multisectoral response, supported by PAHO/WHO and NGO partners and with financial backing from the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO), the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), and the government of Canada, among others, has illustrated the importance of cooperation in overcoming the logistical and health challenges of this crisis. Despite the complexity of the situation, the joint approach demonstrates collective commitment to an effective and sustainable response to the cholera emergency.