The United Nations and authorities in Haiti have called for international support to respond to a deadly cholera outbreak that the World Health Organization has warned has killed hundreds of thousands around the world. Caribbean country get risk.
In a statement on Tuesday, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN-OCHA) called for $145.6 million to help Haiti contain the outbreak. starting in early Octoberand provide necessary assistance to its citizens.
According to the latest figures, more than 7,200 people have been hospitalized with cholera in Haiti and at least 155 people have died as of Saturday (PDF) from the Haitian public health department. But the actual number is believed to be higher due to underreporting.
“Cholera is a preventable and treatable disease, and based on their experience and expertise, national organizations quickly devised a response strategy with the determined support of the entire community. local and international humanitarian community,” the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, Ulrika Richardson, said in a statement. Tuesday statement.
“However, the increase in cases in recent weeks and the rapid spread of cholera in the country is cause for concern,” Richardson said.
Haiti’s response to the cholera outbreak was complicated by increased gang violence and instability, soaring in the aftermath of President Jovenel Moise Assassination in Port-au-Prince last year.
A week-long gang blockade of a gas station in the capital that began in September has led to water and electricity shortages, crippling Haiti’s healthcare network and leaving expert warning that the country faced a “cholera ticking time bomb”.
Caused by drinking water or eating food contaminated with cholera bacteria, weak can cause severe diarrhea as well as vomiting, thirst, and other symptoms. It also spreads rapidly in areas where there is no sewage treatment system or clean drinking water.
While the Haitian government regained control Varreux fuel station is blocked this month – allowing gas stations to reopen and sparking cheers in the streets of Port-au-Prince – a spokesman for the Haitian Ministry of Health warned that it could lead to more cholera cases. than.
“Now people will move around more,” Dr Jeanty Fils told the Associated Press news agency. “It could start to spread.”
Fils said the government is struggling to find life-saving equipment, such as IV supplies, as a discussion continues about whether a cholera vaccine should be ordered. “We need more resources,” he said. “Cholera cases continue to increase in Haiti.”
If people with cholera start to go to areas with poor sanitation and lack of drinking water, said Stephanie Mayronne, medical operations director for Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres, or MSF). , the number of cases is likely to increase. “It’s a match that can ignite,” she told the AP.
Haiti last reported a case of cholera more than three years ago, after a 2010 outbreak involving UN peacekeepers caused about 10,000 deaths and more than 820,000 infections.
That outbreak was tied to a sewage leak from a United Nations peacekeeping base, sparking public condemnation and distrust of the international body across Haiti. UN sorry in 2016 for its role in the pandemic.
In early October, a World Health Organization (WHO) official said the agency was sending a request for a cholera vaccine to Haiti.
The WHO’s branch in the Americas, the Pan American Health Organization, told the AP it was assisting the Haitian government in preparing a vaccine request and planning and implementing vaccination campaigns. But it’s not clear if that could happen and when.
Meanwhile, extreme poverty and lack of access to sanitation and clean water have left thousands of Haitians vulnerable; WHO has warning that up to 500,000 people are at risk of cholera.
Patrick Joseph, 40, was among thousands of people recently hospitalized after becoming severely dehydrated. “I don’t know where I got cholera from,” he said, though he suspects it was water he bought from a seller who claimed it was treated.
Joseph said: “I was afraid I would die if I didn’t go to the doctor.
Lovena Shelove, 30, lost her two-year-old son to cholera even though a kind neighbor brought drinking water to try to revive the toddler after severe bouts of vomiting and diarrhea.
“I don’t have anything in the house,” she said. “I can’t afford to provide anything for the kids.” Her other child, a seven-month-old daughter, is still hospitalized.
