Scarcity of safe drinking water is one of the largest challenges in post-earthquake Haiti. Through a partnership with the water treatment and transport leader ITT, we're getting five water-filtration devices to supply more than 12,000 people with clean water.
We recently used these or similar machines to deliver clean water to 40,000 residents of a Sri Lanka displacement camp, and before that to 50,000 people in Honduras after extensive flooding in 2008.
The assistance is part of ITT's three-year, $1 million commitment to help provide safe water during emergencies created by natural catastrophes such as floods, droughts and earthquakes.
The standalone, portable, self-contained devices are on the move to Port-au-Prince from where they've been stored - waiting for an emergency like this - in Norway and Honduras.
We're also anticipating delivery of three desalinization devices, which would provide the option of making nearby seawater fit for drinking. These are coming from Texas.
Each of the water-filtration devices can filter 4,000 liters of water per hour, enough for approximately 2,500 people. You can read more about them here, or watch this video.