Canadian Medical Assistance Teams (CMAT) deployed a three-person response team to Grand’Anse Department, Haiti, from 2–16 November 2016. The team installed a high-capacity NOMAD water purification system in Les Irois, trained local technicians for sustained operation, and delivered essential medicines to the local hospital. Given robust host-led clinical services in the area and the acute WASH needs following Hurricane Matthew, CMAT prioritized safe water access and supply-chain support over establishing a CMAT-run clinic during this mission.¹⁵²

Hurricane Matthew made landfall in southwestern Haiti on 4 October 2016, severely affecting the Sud and Grand’Anse Departments. Post-hurricane conditions elevated cholera risk; health facilities and water systems sustained wide damage.²³

Following Hurricane Matthew's devastating landfall in October 2016, CMAT deployed a response team to Les Irois, Grand'Anse from November 2–16, 2016 — a coastal community of approximately 20,000 residents where 90% of homes had been destroyed or damaged and 28 cholera cases had already been reported. Working through the UN/UNICEF WASH Cluster, CMAT installed its NOMAD water purification system at a central well near the local market, capable of producing up to 136,800 litres of safe drinking water per day, and set up a 5,000-litre onion tank alongside chlorine supply and fuel to sustain operations. Municipal water technicians were trained to independently operate the system, ensuring continuity of service after the team's departure. In parallel, CMAT delivered an HPIC Primary Health Pack — containing analgesics, antibiotics, oral rehydration salts, and essential medicines — to Les Irois Hospital for free distribution by the local physician. The team also assessed and sourced materials to repair the town's damaged gravity water system, facilitating a partnership with Haven, an Irish NGO, to procure and deliver PVC piping. A December follow-up confirmed the NOMAD remained in continuous operation, with the gravity system rehabilitation underway and plans to integrate the NOMAD unit into the repaired water line.