The United Nations has asked the world to step up with $164 million to help deal with a raging cholera epidemic that has sickened nearly 57,000 people in Haiti.
Shamefully, only $5 million has been collected so far. That number needs to increase, and fast.
More than 1,300 people have died of cholera in Haiti, a toll that’s sure to climb given the squalid conditions on the island nation struggling to recover from a devastating earthquake in January.
Time is of the essence. The disease can kill in a matter of hours through dehydration because of diarrhea. Victims can be saved from the bacterial illness if they receive treatment quickly after symptoms begin.
“The response is completely inadequate and in this situation where we are against the clock we urgently need support if we are going to save lives,” Imogen Wall, a spokeswoman for the U.N.’s humanitarian agency told Reuters.
There is a critical need for doctors, nurses, water purification systems, chlorine tablets, soap, oral rehydration salts, tents for cholera treatment centers and other supplies.
International health officials predict some 200,000 people will fall ill in the coming months. The disease is transmitted via contaminated drinking water.
The effort to fight the cholera epidemic has been complicated by rumors, thus far unsubstantiated, that the disease was brought to Haiti from Nepal by U.N. peacekeeping troops.
There have been anti-U.N. riots and road blockages, which have made the situation even more difficult for aid workers. On top of that, the country also is set to conduct presidential and legislative elections on Sunday.
It is no doubt crucial for Haiti to have a credible government that can be counted on to appropriately spend the foreign aid that has been pledged to rebuild the country.
But as important as it is for Haiti to have a functioning government, it seems the U.N. forces helping to conduct the election would be better deployed in fighting the epidemic.
There have been reports of people dying on the street or in the rural countryside because they were not able to get to a hospital in time.
“There is no time left for meetings and debate — the time for action is now,” said Stefano Zannini, head of the Haiti mission for Doctors Without Borders.
He called on all humanitarian agencies to dramatically step up their activities to fight the cholera outbreak.
The U.N. has formulated a 14-month response plan that will improve water and sanitation, and will include outreach to Haitians to teach them how to avoid catching and spreading the disease. It will include a ramping up of medical capacity and rehydration centers.
What’s missing now are the funds to put the plans into action. We know economic times are difficult across the globe, but we hope the world will help Haiti once again in its time of need.
