Australia and Brazil's pledge to work together has resulted in a partnership to provide 5000 water tanks for families living in rural poverty in Haiti. The agreement follows a joint design mission to Haiti in December 2011. The mission team reviewed the first phase of construction of concrete rainwater tanks for water catchment and prepared the design for the next phase. The project provides much needed capture and storage of rainwater for poor, rural communities. It builds on Australia's earlier assistance to Haiti that improved access to clean water and functional sewerage systems–necessary to prevent the spread of cholera, which poses a serious threat.
The death toll from cholera rises with the onset of the wet season. Thousands of patients crowd hospitals, as medical teams desperately seek to contain an epidemic that many fear may 'spread like wildfire'.