FFTP Delivers Food, Medical Supplies to Fight Cholera, Hunger in Haiti

COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (Nov. 9, 2022) – Food For The Poor is providing lifesaving food and medical supplies to a broad range of organizations in Haiti to combat a growing number of cholera cases and to address food insecurity.

Aid was distributed from the FFTP-Haiti warehouse over the weekend to a total of 66 organizations in Port-au-Prince, including Hopital Raoul Pierre Louis, Centre Hospitalier Fontaine Duvivier, Centre Gheskio Bicentenaire, Centre Gheskio IMIS and Centre Foyer Sainte Camille.

Orphanages, churches and humanitarian organizations also received goods.

Among the relief were 70 cases of water purification tablets, 160 cases of Liquid I.V. oral rehydration powder, 1,041 bags of rice, 506 bags of beans, 116 cases of MannaPack rice meals, plus hygiene products and cleaning supplies.

“These provisions are the real solution to the problem,” FFTP President/CEO Ed Raine said.

Haiti’s Ministry of Public Health has reported 6,072 suspected cases of cholera and 121 deaths from the deadly disease.

For months, most of the Caribbean nation has been paralyzed by civil unrest, soaring gang violence and a lack of fuel. Nearly half the population faces acute hunger. In early October, an outbreak of cholera threatened to take hold after cases had dwindled in recent years.

Cholera is a bacterial infection contracted from contaminated food or water supplies. It can cause severe vomiting and diarrhea, in some cases leading to death.

Mario Nicoleau, Executive Director of FFTP-Haiti, said he hoped the charity’s response will slow the spread of the disease.

“With rains coming in, no trash pickup, and everywhere just being full of trash and flooded, I hope that the country is able to get back on its feet and start basic services so that it doesn’t get worse,” Nicoleau said.

On Saturday, Haiti’s National Police broke up a gang blockade that had prevented delivery of gasoline and diesel for two months and created a humanitarian crisis with people and businesses unable to buy fuel. The hope is for a quick return of fuel supplies, but it isn’t clear how quickly that would happen.

Raine said the charity’s team in Haiti is ready to respond and is preparing a strategy for when it can move more freely and safely about the country.

On a recent Saturday, FFTP-Haiti opened its doors to safely distribute rice, beans, MannaPack rice meals, water purification tablets, hygiene products and baby items to more than 500 pregnant women and nursing mothers from the Centre de Récupération Nutritionnelle.

“We’re getting things done when these windows of opportunity occur,” Raine said. “But we really know that this humanitarian crisis needs to be addressed. We’re trying to make sure that we’re ready for a huge distribution of relief.”

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Food For The Poor, one of the largest international relief and development organizations in the nation, does much more than feed millions of hungry children and families living in poverty primarily in 17 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. This interdenominational Christian ministry provides emergency relief assistance, water, medicine, educational materials, homes, support for vulnerable children, care for the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance. For more information, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org.

Michael Turnbell
Communications
(954) 471-0928
michaelt@foodforthepoor.org