Sean Penn says quick action needed to fight cholera in Haiti
Martina Stewart
AC360° Digital Producer
(CNN) - One of the key aspects to gaining control of the fast-moving cholera outbreak in Haiti is the simplest of human necessities, actor and activist Sean Penn told CNN's "AC360°."
People must stop using contaminated water, he said, noting that they will only do that if clean water is provided.
"So, whether that's through filtration systems or trucked in water, this is going to be the essential element - water, water, water," Penn said in an interview that aired Monday.
Penn, a co-founder of Haitian relief organization J/P HRO, visited Haiti over the weekend - days after news broke about the cholera outbreak in the earthquake-ravaged country.
"It's bad," Penn said of the conditions in the Caribbean nation, devastated by a magnitude 7.0 earthquake on January 12 which killed nearly a quarter million people, left more than 1.6 million people homeless and destroyed homes, commercial buildings and basic infrastructure.
And the cholera outbreak has made a bad situation worse, he said.
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Filed under: 360° Radar • 360º Follow • Big Interview • Haiti • Martina Stewart |
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Hello, I heard this interview, and have tried to find the information about the US failing to live up to its pledges of money for help to Haiti. All I have found, on ReliefWeb and the Guardian, among other sites, is that the US has given over a billion dollars, the largest amount after individuals. It doesn't say anywhere that I can find that the US has not sent the money. If the US has not sent anything, then why??? What is stopping it? This is an incomplete story without that explanation.
Stop the spread of cholera? It's as simple as clean water, an impossibility for hundreds of thousands. Do yourself a favor, climb on an airplane with a couple of suitcases filled with water. When you get to Port au Prince, give them away to anyone you see (everyone needs water) and then head back on the next plane. It will change your life.I don't believe anyone can understand the depths of poverty in this nation without having visited.
Hey there,
It would be really great to hear Anderson comment on some of the major charities that are in Haiti as we speak doing amazing things to help the situation! Espacially Franklin Graham's oraganization Samaritans Purse. Anderson you really should be talking to Franklin Graham not Sean Penn. You make it look like no one is doing anything to help when in fact much is being done!
Has anyone investgated low-tech (low cost) solutions for water purification such as Solar or UV purification in plastic bottles?
I am just a little slow. Haiti is really close and we did promise 5 billion dollars to help rebuild. None of that money have been released to help rebuild what was a fragile infrastructure. Clean water and sewage system, plus two other problem Cholera and Coburn(Tom that is). The shame of it all!
Frankly, we Americans (most of us)just don't care what happens in Haiti. We know that no amount of money or governing or common sense will ever rectify the perpetual mess that is forever Haiti. If a few hunderd die of cholera, how is that much of an impact compared to the tens-of-thousands who died in the earthquake? It sounds cold-hearted, and maybe it is, but with so much going on in our country and the world, it's difficult to once again worry about Haiti.
the heartache in his eyes was hard to watch last night