As if enough weren't enough

Haitians are entering into another disabling phase in this crisis.

Disease brought on by the lack of clean water – sanitation conditions and crowded tent cities - will bring the death toll to an ever-increasing number of Haitians. Not to mention the dehydrating heat and lack of medical care.

There are 91 working hospitals in Haiti and they have tried to take care of hundreds of thousands of individuals with life-saving services. Long-term care is still a dream, trying to happen. And there are still hundreds on the streets that remain untreated.

The Haitian government has raised the number of deaths up to 230,000. Exact numbers are unknown, as there are people still buried in the rubble of collapsed buildings. Many others buried by families are not included in this number. Injuries are estimated at well over 350,000 – homeless and orphaned numbers are also on an increase.

Makeshift camps are a breeding ground for diseases – like measles, diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough – an epidemic in the making. And while officials are trying to vaccinate 530,000 children against these diseases – the vaccination program is still in the works.

Respiratory infections, malnutrition and diarrhea may be the biggest killers – yet to come. And a shortage of medical equipment and spotty electrical power has not helped matters any.