Nine and a half months after Haiti’s devastating earthquake, a cholera epidemic is quickly sweeping the Western Hemisphere’s poorest nation. With so many still homeless (1.3 million in the capital Port-au-Prince alone) and sanitation infrastructure in a bad condition, it is no wonder that this deadly disease is taking hold. Cholera, a water-borne disease that causes vomiting and diarrhea to the point where the victim becomes fatally dehydrated, exists where people lack access to clean water. Unsanitary water is not a new problem in Haiti, so many residents of the Artibonite region where the epidemic is taking place have built up immunity to the contaminants in the water. However, the nearly 300,000 displaced persons who have moved there since the earthquake have not and are therefore more susceptible to the disease.

So what is to be done? Partners in Health (PIH), a non-profit development organization that provides preferential medical treatment to the poor and one which I deeply admire and trust, is leading an effort to stem the spread of Cholera in the effected region. PIH wrote the following in an article published yesterday titled “Access to Hospitals and Clean Water are Major Challenges to Controlling Cholera Outbreak”:

[To reach out to remote villages, PIH is sponsoring regular radio announcements at stations throughout the region. In addition, thousands of PIH community health workers and social workers have been mobilized and deployed to find suspected cholera cases and educate their communities about the importance of washing their hands regularly and drinking only clean or purified water. They have also been supplied with soap, water purification tablets and oral rehydration salts to distribute. Additional training materials for community health workers are being finalized. Topics include preventing transmission and disinfecting the homes of cholera patients.]

Cholera disease control initiatives like this one are active all over the world where people living in similar conditions to Haitians are suffering from the lack of access to clean water. You can help keep these efforts going and improve lives abroad by donating time, supplies, or money. Here are a few websites that offer opportunities to help those in desperate need:

Partners in Health

International Action

Doctors without Borders

Oxfam International

More news updates here: Cholera in Haiti

Here’s the latest news about water-related issues. More to come…

Port-au-Prince Water System Reconstruction Underway, Partnering with UNICEF and Other Orgs: Five months after the devastating earthquake in Haiti, about 60% of the quake-affected displaced population still do not have access to safe water. Progress toward getting the nation back on its feet is slowed by water-related diseases which hurt hundreds of thousands of people.

Bill Gates & Other Corporate Leaders Call for Renewable Push: The American Energy Innovation Council (AEIC), the brainchild of Bill Gates and GE’s Jeff Immelt, launched this week. The recommendations for energy innovation published by the AEIC might have the power to put the spotlight on clean energy technologies. See below…

X-Rays Mark the Spot to Drill for Water in Chad: “Magnetic imaging lets scientists peer beneath the surface to see exactly where groundwater sources are located.”

Firm develops ‘forgotten’ wave power technology: “A renewable energy company has gone ‘back to the future’ to develop a device to harness power from waves.”

Here are the latest headlines regarding water pollution, natural disasters, and acrobatics….

Chinese Farms Generate More Water Pollution than Factories, Government Report States: The Chinese government released its first report on pollution this week in a surprising act of transparency. The official survey revealed that agricultural pollution poses a greater threat than factories.

With James Bond-like agility, a protester sneaks on board a Japanese whaling vessel in an attempt to stop further killing of marine species in the Oceania region.

Rising threats in Haiti as rain season nears

This video outlines one non-profit’s mission to the “Plastic Vortex,” an area 400 miles west of California that is home to a staggering amount of pollution which threatens marine life. This floating garbage patch spans approximately 3,500 miles—about the size of Texas. Project Kaisei, the organization that has been leading voyages to the area to conduct studies and find ways to turn the plastic waste into fuel, says that the pollution is made up of plastic particles from containers, bottled water and even children’s toys.

And here’s Edward Norton who has more to say on the subject of marine pollution:

As usual, here are the latest updates about the state of water in the world today:

Haiti is in the hearts and minds of many of us right now after a 7.0 earthquake hit Port-au-Prince just days ago. At the apex of a mounting heap of problems this disaster-struck country faces is a lack of clean water. Public Radio International outlines just how important clean water is to the reeling nation of Haiti when so many have been injured and are at higher risk of disease.

Hawaii implements nation’s first marine debris action plan The island takes first steps toward cleaning man-made debris off of its beaches and coral reefs thanks to an action plan mandated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

How Britain is addressing the problem of rising sea levels. Experts discuss options for how best to protect the 10 million people who live in flood risk areas around England and Wales. Ideas include retreating, defending, and attacking.

This is a useful video that demonstrates ways of conserving water that I hadn’t thought of before

India Cities Focus on Rainwater Harvesting to Provide Clean Drinking Water: The Indian government is now requiring all new buildings in 18 out of 28 of its states to have rainwater harvesting systems in an effort to support the needs of their booming population.