By: Billy Shore, Founder and Executive Director of Share Our Strength
The six month anniversary of the earthquake in Haiti, marked by renewed media coverage over the past few weeks, underscored how even the most riveting catastrophes eventually fade from our consciousness. I went to Port au Prince two weeks after the quake and again two months later. I witnessed the outpouring of generosity from around the world. With more than a million Haitians in desperate tarp and tent camps the need remains enormous. But now most of the volunteer aid workers are gone. Except during occasions like the six month anniversary, so are most reporters.
The burden of infectious diseases on the poorest people in the world is every bit as crushing as the concrete rubble that buried so many in Port au Prince. But it never commands anywhere near the same attention. And even sustaining what little visibility it gets is an enormous on-going challenge.
» Read more: The Earthquake that Shocked the World — Haiti 6 Months Later
