Outrage: Cholera in Haiti

There is a cholera outbreak in Haiti, reaching the capital of Port-au-Prince last week. Cholera is a brutal disease. I watched people in Africa die by the hundreds from cholera during the Ethiopian famine of the 1980s. It was like hell on earth.

       Cholera is a water-born disease of the intestine which causes acute diarrhea and dehydration. It can kill a person in a matter of hours.
       This epidemic was almost inevitable, 10 months after the massive earthquake which devastated the country. The earthquake was horrible, the assistance from donors around the world was anything but helpful. In the rush to help we in the west have perhaps caused as much harm as anything else.
       What is needed is for major organizations such as the International Committee of the Red Cross, CARE, and World Vision along with government relief agencies (such as USAID) to run the relief programs in Haiti.
       It's time for all the church groups and other nonprofits to step back from going to Haiti and simply send money to the Red Cross and other organizations which can work on a large scale.