Time to Make Something Happen

As you’ll see in this week’s Health Politics program, the threat of a cholera epidemic in the United States is not huge -- although we came close after Hurricane Katrina -- but many developing nations struggle with it constantly. The bacterium that causes the disease lives and thrives in contaminated water, and once a victim is infected, death can occur within 24 hours if there is no access to clean water or antibiotics.

Given that we know so much more about this disease – such as how it’s contracted and how to treat it – than we know about many other diseases, it’s difficult to accept the fact that so many continue to get sick and die. Three things, in particular, would make a huge difference: building out water and sanitation infrastructure in high-risk areas, implementing effective surveillance and response systems, and defining new vaccine strategies. Somalia has seen great success with these steps. How can we get them to other areas of Africa?