Exactly two years after the Haiti earthquake, the World Health Organisation and the governments of Haiti and the Dominican Republic have launched a call to action to make the countries cholera free.
Haiti is experiencing one of the largest cholera epidemics in modern history, according to the WHO, who held a joint press briefing in Washington DC, USA yesterday (11 January 2012) with the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO), the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), UNICEF and other key partners.
A WHO spokesperson said: “Eliminating cholera from the island of Hispaniola will require dramatic improvements in water and sanitation services. PAHO, CDC and UNICEF are suggesting four concrete steps to continue saving lives and reducing disease in Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
“The WHO office in Washington (WHO/PAHO) and a number of partners including the governments of Haiti and Dominican Republic and CDC are calling for cholera-free hispagnola through essential investments in water, sanitation, and hygiene infrastructure.
“While the international community has supported the governments of Haiti and the Dominican Republic in implementing cholera prevention and control interventions, major investments in infrastructure and institutional capacity to operate it, are needed to keep cholera from becoming endemic in Haiti. Even before the earthquake exactly two years ago, population access to improved water and sanitation in Haiti was far below levels in other Latin American and Caribbean countries, and the situation has only grown worse. It is time to act.”
In attendance where PAHO/WHO director Dr Mirta Roses, Dr Kevin De Cock, Director, Centre for Global Health, CDC, Sanjay Wijesekera, Chief, Water and Sanitation, UNICEF and the President of Haiti Michel Joseph. The President of the Dominican Republic Leonel Fernández also attended via video link.
The call to action will be launched simultaneously at the Ministry of Health of Haiti, Port-au-Prince, Haiti and at the National Palace, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
