October 19, 2012, will mark the two-year anniversary of the cholera outbreak on the island of Hispaniola. Over the past two years a range of multilateral organizations, government agencies, and non-governmental program implementers, have been working to assist the Governments of Haiti and the Dominican Republic in controlling the spread of cholera – emphasizing the importance of water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) interventions. To acknowledge the island’s two-year effort to control the spread of cholera and to advance action in support of the Regional Coalition on Water and Sanitation for the Elimination of Cholera in the Island of Hispaniola, CSIS and PAHO convened two expert-led panel discussions that focused on the challenges posed by the outbreak, described the opportunities presented by regional collaboration on WASH activities, and identified opportunities for greater engagement on cholera elimination by the non-government sector.
Welcome and Introductions: Katherine Bliss
Panel One: High Level Engagement with the Coalition
Jon Andrus, Pan American Health Organization, moderator
Jordan Tappero, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Ron Clemmer, World Vision and United States Water Partnership
Kathleen Krackenberger, World Bank
Panel Two: On the Ground Support for WASH and Cholera Activities
Katherine Bliss, CSIS, moderator
Louise Ivers, Partners In Health
Sy Rotter, Veolia Environment Foundation
Loune Viaud, Zanmi Lasante
Dennis Warner, Catholic Relief Services
Video: Haiti Global Handwashing Day
Also see the recent Washington Post article: In Rural Haiti, Looking for a Way to Make Clean Water Sustainable.