Haiti earthquake: Waterborne disease poses new threat to children
(United Nations News) A crippling earthquake followed by plummeting rains have put some 540,000 children in southwest Haiti at risk of life-threatening waterborne diseases, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has warned.
“The lives of thousands of earthquake-affected children and families are now at risk, just because they don’t have access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene”, Bruno Maes, UNICEF Representative in Haiti said on Thursday.
A 7.2 magnitude earthquake that ripped through the Caribbean island State on 14 August, was followed days later by Tropical Depression Grace, which exacerbated the suffering and increased the devastation.
More than a half million children in southwestern Haiti without access to shelter, drinking water and hygiene facilities are increasingly under threat from acute respiratory infections, diarrhoeal diseases, cholera and malaria, according to UNICEF.
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Source: CARICOM TODAY