Pedro Medrano, Secretary-General’s Senior Coordinator for the Cholera Response in Haiti, considers that this country is not receiving the international attention it deserves, and is calling on the donor community to scale up support to combat the disease.

"Haiti is not receiving the attention of the international community, particularly the donor community," Pedro Medrano told the UN News Centre, as he reported on a recent trip during which he met with officials in Canada, the United Kingdom, Belgium, France, Germany, Spain and the Netherlands.

"It is clear that this epidemic is not on their radar screen," added Mr. Medrano. The cholera outbreak which has affected Haiti since October 2010 is still considered the largest in the Western Hemisphere, with more than 700,000 cases and over 8,500 deaths.

Since the beginning of the epidemic, the UN has initiated a system-wide effort to support the Government of Haiti. In December 2012, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon launched an initiative for the elimination of cholera in Haiti and the Dominican Republic that focuses on prevention, treatment and education.

The UN has worked with partners in the community and international groups to launch a series of actions, including establishing/upgrading cholera treatment facilities, constructing waste water treatment plants, purchasing oral cholera vaccines, and supporting community-based hygiene campaigns.

According to Mr. Medrano, less than 17% of the population has access to sanitation while about half of the population has access to safe drinking water. "It’s impossible to stop the transmission of cholera and other water-borne diseases without urgent interventions in water and sanitation," he stressed.

The UN system in Haiti has developed a two-year, $68 million initiative in support of the Government’ s 10-year National Plan for the Elimination of Cholera. In addition, the UN and the Haitian Government are finalizing the creation of a high-level committee that will oversee the coordinated implementation of the cholera response measures as contained in the National Plan.

"There is no doubt that we have made substantial progress. Today, we have fewer cases of cholera than we had in previous years. The figures from January and February 2014 show that there were 1,400 new cases, the lowest number of new cases since the epidemic began," noted Pedro Medrano "Even if we are making progress, and we have a lower number of cases today, we are not out of the woods."

HL/ HaitiLibre