Supporting cholera vaccination efforts in Haiti

03 Jan 2023

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) teams in Haiti are supporting the cholera vaccination campaign launched by the national health authorities.

This campaign is the latest effort in response to the resurgence of the disease, which has affected more than 15,000 people and caused more than 300 deaths in the country since the end of September. 

Haiti CTC Cité Soleil

Haiti CTC Cité Soleil - Nurse applies an intravenous line with rehydration fluids to a little girl with cholera-like symptoms accompanied by her mother. © Alexandre Marcou/MSF

On 12 December, the Ministry of Public Health and Population (MSPP) received 1.17 million doses of cholera vaccine from the International Coordinating Group, a mechanism to manage and coordinate the provision of emergency vaccine supplies to countries during outbreaks. 

“We support the vaccination campaign in Cité Soleil, one of the most cholera-affected areas of Port-au-Prince”, says William Etienne, MSF emergency coordinator. “Our teams are helping with the transportation of the vaccine doses and other items, facilitating the movement of the MSPP vaccination teams, distributing soap and other hygiene items, and taking care of waste management.”

Though the pace of contamination has apparently slowed down recently, vaccination remains a very useful tool in a fragile health context such as this.

William Etienne
MSF emergency coordinator

MSF teams have been part of the cholera emergency response since the first few patients were identified. We quickly opened several cholera treatment centres in Port-au-Prince and in the Artibonite province, work to provide access to clean water and run health promotion activities.

 healthcare worker

A healthcare worker holds a cooler box of cholera vaccines, as MSF teams support the vaccination campaign led by the Haitian ministry of Health (MSPP) in Cité Soleil. Port-au-Prince, Haiti, December 2022.
© Djenane Madona Baptiste/MSF