The Red Cross effort in Haiti shifts up a gear this week, with the deployment of two Basic Health Care medical clinics in the field, the widening of assessments in Artibonite and further north, and the ongoing distribution of relief and aid.

Two weeks after the last of three successive hurricanes hit the country, many parts of Haiti are only accessible by sea or helicopter.

The German-led Basic Health Care (BHC) unit is being deployed in the area around San Marc in the badly affected Artibonite province, between Port-au-Prince and Goniave. The Spanish-led BHC unit was airlifted into the southern region around Cote de Fer by helicopter. Each BHC unit can treat up to 30,000 people within a month.

"In the coming week San Marc will be the main focus of actual distributions while assessment teams go to the north and south, really to look at the next round of distributions," said Paul Keane of the ICRC.

As the waters begin to recede more areas are opening up, allowing for an increase in assessments and beneficiary selection across the country. Almost 5,000 families have been targeted by the IFRC for immediate aid, and it is expected that 2,000 of these will have received family kits and food supplies by the end of the week.

"We are in constant touch with the Haitian Red Cross and they're having a lot of donations of food items. We're going to try to associate those with our kits so we'll get the people what they need as far a nutrition is concerned," said Brigittte Gaillis, FACT leader with the IFRC mission in Haiti.

Meanwhile, the threat from water-borne disease is growing and the incidence of malaria seems to be on the rise. 2,000 mosquito nets are being sent to BHC unit in the south and the Spanish Red Cross is setting up a water treatment plant in Cote de Fer.

"Another risk is that people who, at the moment are in a shelter with a roof over their head and food, may be soon going home," said Keane, "and the conditions in their communities may be much more problematic in terms of their health."

With the setting up of the BHC units, trained Red Cross personnel will able to go to small affected communities with health care and health education, which will be very much needed as the community health problems start to arise.