http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/09/05/2391890/haiti-cholera-epidemic-as.html#ixzz1XHbNbKsL
Cholera is a deadly epidemic striking Haiti, however, aid groups are starting to leave Haiti without the outbreak being completely eliminating the threat. The problem here is that Haiti's terrain, in addition to the inaccessibility of those who need the most help, make it very difficult for aid groups to get supplies where they need to go. The issue behind this cholera epidemic is that Haiti has not even started industrializing and developing. Like many undeveloped countries, it has few roads and many rural communities that are isolated. There is hardly any way to efficiently save those in Haiti if help can't get to them easily.
Cholera kills fast and moves fast as well. With no widespread road system paved over the rocky terrain, there is no way to help. The issue to think about here is whether or not sacrificing three, four, five generations of people is worth it to industrialize and make the country easier to live in. It would be near impossible to evenly split funds between helping the sick and moving the country forward economically.
Haiti is really a mess of a country, and the recent earthquake didn't help matters. I think that aid shouldn't be stopped, just reevaluated on how its being used. Unfortunately there is not nearly enough aid to set up an infrastructure there. Relief efforts are probably the most efficient although temporary measures that can currently be implemented there. A lot of work needs to be put into getting the people of Haiti to start fixing up the country themselves, education and providing basic health needs being some of the most important.
ReplyDeleteIt will be important to focus on issues right now than moving the country forward economically. Like misoc162 said, without providing basic health needs and education, the country can not go forward economically even though we support them with the financial aid. However, if people are healthy and educated, they can go forward economically even with a lesser help and a lesser financial aid.
ReplyDeleteThough it is a difficult decision to make, in order to even begin helping those in need, it is necessary that Haiti begin industrializing as a country. These funds need to go towards advancing Haiti as a country, before the Cholera epidemic. The lack of industrialization is what is causing the difficulties in the first place, so before we can do anything else to help Haiti, we must help them develop and move into the modern world where epidemics such as this one are scarce. Epidemics like these will keep coming until Haiti moves forward.
ReplyDeleteThe moral question you raise is a pertinent one, one that I'm sure plagues more than just Haiti but various developing countries all over the world as well. Do we sacrifice a few now for the majority later? In this case, there really is no question. The lack of infrastructure makes long-lasting aid virtually impossible to give. The development of a solid infrastructure has become more than just a choice. It has become an imperative - the only way forward for Haiti.
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