Dozens of cholera cases have been diagnosed in Haiti, adding new urgency to warnings about the Caribbean country’s descent into chaos amid political and economic crises.
The infection has already killed eight people, according to Haiti’s Ministry of Health. Another 68 new cases were identified in the first week of October, according to the medical-humanitarian group Doctors Without Borders (MSF).
The “vast majority” of cholera cases under MSF’s observation are children, the group’s project coordinator, Moha Zemrag, told CNN on Sunday (2).
The emerging new public health emergency could hardly come at a worse time. Anti-government protests – now in their seventh week – have brought the country to a standstill, with schools, businesses and public transport across the country nearly closed. Since August 22, Haitians have demonstrated against chronic gang violence, poverty, food insecurity, inflation and fuel shortages.
Their fury was further fueled last month when Prime Minister Ariel Henry announced he would cut fuel subsidies to fund the government – a move that would double prices at pumps. Haiti’s powerful gangs have exacerbated the fuel crisis by blocking the country’s main port in the capital Port-au-Prince.
The country’s hospital system is now out of fuel. Several hospitals recently announced that they would be forced to shut down or limit services due to lack of electricity from generators.
According to the director general of the Ministry of Health of Haiti, Dr. Laure Adrien, the eight cholera deaths took place in Port-au-Prince.
“For now, we need to work on prevention and try to identify the source of the recent outbreak. We know that cholera is very dangerous, but it is also easily treatable. We urge everyone to be vigilant and do their part as we try to control the situation,” Adrien said during a press conference in the capital.
People living in areas with a shortage of clean water or inadequate sanitation are vulnerable to cholera, which can result from consuming food or water contaminated by bacteria.
While vaccines exist and symptoms can be “easily treated,” according to the World Health Organization (WHO), cholera continues to kill through dehydration in the developing world.
Haiti has been scarred by cholera before. In 2010, less than a year after a major earthquake, the disease began to spread from a United Nations (UN) peacekeeping camp to the population.
This outbreak eventually reached 800,000 cases and claimed at least 10,000 lives. While the UN acknowledged its involvement in the outbreak, it did not accept legal responsibility. Human rights organizations have not stopped asking for financial compensation for victims.
Until this year, the disease appeared to have been largely eliminated from the country after a national public health battle.
In February, UN Deputy Secretary Amina J. Mohammed said that Haiti was “on the cusp of a historic moment.”
“As we look to eliminate cholera in Haiti, it will be the first country in modern times to do so after a large-scale outbreak,” explained Amina.
But now that milestone seems out of reach again.
On Monday, the UN said it would help the Haitian government mount an “emergency response” to the new outbreak “focused not only on limiting the spread of the disease, but also on telling families how to take immediate action to save lives in their families.” local communities. ”
In a statement released through his spokesman, UN Secretary-General António Guterres also noted that Haiti’s other crises are hampering an effective response to the outbreak.
“Fuel deliveries have been blocked at the port since mid-September, which has hampered not only the daily lives of the Haitian people, but also the capacity and ability of the United Nations and the international community to respond to a worsening crisis,” Guterres explained.
“The Secretary-General calls on all stakeholders to work together at this time of crisis to ensure that the gains made over the past 12 years in the fight against cholera are not eroded,” he continued.
Source: CNN Brasil
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