In support of Haiti’s national strategy to combat the cholera outbreak, CARICOM is executing a project to improve sanitation infrastructure and sensitize residents of a Cite Soleil community in Haiti in the practice of safe personal and community hygiene.
According to a press release from the CARICOM Secretariat at Turkeyen, the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) project will improve access to 25 toilet blocks and hand-washing stations for approximately 15,000 residents or 3,000 families in the neighbourhood of Brooklyn, a section of Cite Soleil in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area. Additionally, an effective strategy for promoting proper hygiene practices is being developed as part of the cholera response activities.
CARICOM, the release added, is also providing medical supplies as part of its assistance to the Government of Haiti in combating the cholera epidemic.
The WASH Project is a response to the request by the Government of Haiti for CARICOM’s assistance in the area of sanitation and hygiene, as part of the National Strategy to combat the cholera epidemic in Haiti.
The area of Cite Soleil was recommended by the designated National Water and Sanitation Agency (DINEPA) for assistance in this regard. The project is being carried out with funding support from the Australian Agency for International Development (AUSAID) and in collaboration with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) as the implementing agency.
Director of the CARICOM Representation Office in Haiti, Ambassador Earl Huntley, Senior Project Officer, CARICOM Haiti Support Unit, Lyndell Danzie-Black, CARICOM Public Relations Consultant, Carlton James, IOM WASH Project Manager, Nicole Klaesener, and IOM Community Workers, participated in a ceremony on the premises of Radio Boukman, a community-based radio station, on December 8, where details of the project were presented to the community.
