UNICEF seeks $27.5 million to step up cholera response in Haiti

(United Nations News) Children account for roughly 40 per cent of the confirmed cholera cases in Haiti, or two in five, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Wednesday, appealing for $27.5 million to save more lives from the disease. 

The outbreak began two months ago and is unfolding amid economic crisis and rising insecurity due to gang violence. 

Ninety per cent of confirmed cases have been in areas with a high burden of severe acute malnutrition.

Children suffering from the condition, which is also known as severe wasting, are more vulnerable to cholera and at least three times more at risk of dying from it.

“In Haiti right now, there is a triple threat to children’s lives –malnutrition, cholera and armed violence. And sometimes all three together,” said Manuel Fontaine, Director of UNICEF’s Office of Emergency Programmes, who has concluded a four-day visit to the country. 

Read more at: United Nations News

Source: CARICOM TODAY