Hard to believe, but it has been six months since the devastating earthquake in Haiti killed more than 230,000 people, injured 300,000, destroyed 60 percent of the government infrastructure, left 180,000 homes uninhabitable and rendered 1.5 million Haitians homeless. Media around the world marked the anniversary with various stories about aid to Haiti, rebuilding progress, infrastructure, and other topics. One such article featured the National Pest Management Association’s work in Haitian hospitals. Check out this USA Today front page story from July 12, 2010.
This past weekend marked the second time a NPMA delegation visited the devastated capital of Port-au-Prince as part of its Pest Management Pledge – Protecting Public Health in Haiti.
Based on past experiences in disaster zones like the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina and the 2008 earthquake in China, NPMA knew the pest conditions facing Haiti were going to escalate to dire levels and potentially increase the transmission of vector-borne diseases and illnesses. The risks pests such as rodents, cockroaches and mosquitoes pose to the people who are already in compromised living conditions are grave.
With the help of the Haitian government and partners on the ground, NPMA has formed the necessary partnerships to go forth with its plan to not only treat medical facilities but to also train Haitian pest professionals so they can properly perform pest control operations in the future.
There is much work to be done and it won’t be easy, but we are hopeful that we can make a difference.