Haiti on precipice of cholera disaster

“Yes, I’ve confirmed that today,” says Claude Surena, conveying the grimmest possible news. “There are five cases confirmed in Port-au-Prince.”

Over the course of a very long day Saturday Surena, president of the Haitian Medical Association, had repeatedly asked for more time in answering the question everyone wanted answered: has the cholera epidemic breached the Artibonite region, moving south of Saint-Marc and into Haiti’s overcrowded, often fetid and tent-cluttered capital?

By Saturday night there was no other answer.

“Be careful, be careful,” has become a watch phrase. Drink only bottled water. SMS messages are being sent by the Red Cross through cellphone providers Voila and Digicel on how to identify “kolera” (grey diarrhea, vomiting) and how to prevent against its spread (bottled water, hand washing). Do not panic is the main message. Followed by get yourself to a clinic within four hours should you experience the signature symptoms.

We can learn how to tackle disasters from other states

The positive side of disasters is that they offer lessons from which others can learn and prevent future recurrences.

If the lessons are not put to good use, we miss opportunities to make the world a better place.

This year started with a horrific earthquake in Haiti which had devastating consequences.

The world was quick to respond with assistance and even quicker to get fatigued — eventually leaving Haitians to their fate.

Immediately thereafter, there was another earthquake in Chile which the country seems to have addressed fairly quickly and effectively.

Chile has permanent institutions and a sufficient annual budget to address disasters.