While some 16,000 new cases of cholera have been reported in Haiti so far this year, the disease is now under control but it will not be eradicated unless improving water and sanitation conditions are given a higher priority by both the Government and donors, says the outgoing United Nations official tasked with leading the response to the outbreak.

"And in today’s world, in the 21st century, it’s not acceptable to have this huge number of cases of cholera," Pedro Medrano Rojas said, as he wrapped up his assignment as UN Senior Coordinator for the Response to Cholera in Haiti, adding "any country with this number of new cases of cholera would declare it an emergency."

"This is what we are trying to convey to donors and to the international community so that they will contribute more towards the eradication of the largest epidemic in the Western Hemisphere. Currently, only about 20% of the $2.2 billion needed for the 10-year national plan to eliminate cholera is available."

Mr. Medrano, who has been responsible for strengthening overall coordination among UN entities and mobilizing a coherent and effective response by the international community, recalled that in the 1990s there had been an outbreak of cholera in the Latin American region that started in Peru. It had taken almost 10 years to eliminate cholera at that time. Comparing the water and sanitation infrastructure in the 20 countries in the region that were affected back then, where over 80 per cent of people had access to water and adequate sanitation, Mr. Medrano noted that “Haiti has a third of that.”

"So we need to do a robust investment in water, sanitation and health, and this takes time [...] So we have to be able to treat the cases, the emergency response, and we can control it and save lives. But what is really important is to have the infrastructure – in water and sanitation in particular – which has not been the priority of the international community for many decades."

See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-14030-haiti-health-increase-of-306-of-cholera-cases.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-14014-haiti-social-$50m-grant-to-improve-access-to-drinking-water.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-13999-haiti-health-dinepa-fight-to-eradicate-cholera.html

HL/ HaitiLibre