Cholera Epidemic That Rocked Haiti

¶ … cholera epidemic that rocked Haiti in October 2010 after the earthquake devastation exposed the already vulnerable Haitian population to unnecessary deaths. The Haitian population has for long been characterized by high infant mortality, poor nutrition, as well as several cases of infectious diseases like HIV / AIDS, Tuberculosis as well as malaria (Tappero & Tauxe,2011).In this paper we discuss whether prevention efforts have been successful. This is done via the political, social, behavioral, financial and humanitarian aspects of the situation.

The disease prevention efforts in Haiti

The Haitian disease prevention efforts are successful in many ways but with a few challenges affecting the implementation of most programs. The work of Kroenig et al. (2010) noted that the nation's HIV / AIDS program is one of the best/most successful in the world. This is due to the declining rate of HIV prevalence as well as treatment outcomes that very well rivals those of the first world countries. The Haitian HIV / AIDS program is currently on its way to providing the citizens a universal treatment for the disease nationwide. This level of success is replicated across the board for almost all the common disease that affects the Haitians. The success is attributed to a very strong foundation for patient care that has always been in place long before the arrival of donor/external funding. This includes the nation's guidelines that are prepared by the Haiti Ministry of Health. Political commitment at the highest government levels, as well as humanitarian aids form non-governmental organizations that are involved in the provision of high quality care in Haiti. The assistance of NGOs such as the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB, and Malaria as well as U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) are part of the reason as to why the disease prevention efforts in Haiti are very successful.