Major disasters can kill thousands of people in one instant, but their deadly effects can continue to last, perhaps killing more people after the event than during it.
When an area experiences a major disaster as Haiti did earlier this week, the infrastructure breaks down and this usually includes the availability of safe drinking 
water. And, if the area hit is as poorly off as Haiti was before the earthquake, then the living conditions are going to change from poor to unimaginable. Before the earthquake, more than half the population had access to clean drinking water and there was no public sewage.
Urgent emergency response is needed to help save lives in the moment, but also to save lives by preventing diseases from taking hold. Diseases like cholera and dysentery, which are water-borne diseases, can spread like wild fire, taking lives along the way.
The country is already struggling with health issues. Not many of the children are vaccinated against diseases that we rarely see in the developed countries. In situations like this, the poor conditions, the cramped quarters, the lack of clean drinking water and poor sanitation, children are prime targets for disease.
As well, experts say that there already is a high rate of contagious illness in the country, namely HIV and tuberculosis.
Another big fear is death from dehydration and malnutrition, although dehydration is a much more dangerous risk. The heat in the Haitian climate, combined with lack of drinking water, can and will affect the most vulnerable: children and the elderly.
What can you say to the people of a country that had little to lose and now have lost what little it did have?
~~~
Image: Newscom.com
Post from: Blisstree