Diarrhea is the leading cause of disease and death in children under 5 years old in Haiti, and goes hand-in-hand with malnutrition. The major reason children and adults get diarrhea is poor quality drinking water, and in Haiti, very few families have access to a well or a water pump. Most families draw drinking water from a river or stream, which is a heavily contaminated source.
Tthe Nutrition Program of Haiti is collaborating with the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, Georgia (CDC) and Population Services International (PSI) to begin a safe water project to bring potable water into rural homes through the use of a specially designed bucket and locally produced chlorine solution. The USAID grant has been temporarily put on hold due to political unrest and personnel changes, but it is anticipated that the project will begin by the fall, 2004. After the Nutrition Program completes a pilot project here in Leogane, PSI will launch a national program, using Nutrition Program staff as consultants to other non-governmental organizations interested in the safe water system.
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