The United Nations Children's Fund warned yesterday that with 50 per cent of the population under 18 years, large numbers of children are affected. (UNICEF) (UN Photo - Sophia Paris)
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, Wednesday November 17, 2010 – The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) is mobilizing all its staff and resources in an effort to stem the spread of cholera in Haiti, as it warned yesterday that with 50 per cent of the population under 18 years, large numbers of children are affected.
"We are working closely with communities and our partners to contain the latest outbreaks of cholera. Our biggest fear is that it will spread through the rural and remote areas, Port au Prince slums and camps, as well as schools and residential care centers across the country where it will be difficult to fight the disease," said Francoise Gruloos-Ackermans, UNICEF Representative in Haiti.
UNICEF’s concern is to reach children living in remote areas and in the overpopulated slums of Port au Prince.
"We are reinforcing our operation with staff and resources, mobilizing our partners and readjusting our pre-positioning stocks to scale with the emergency and make sure we cover as much of the country as possible,” said Gruloos-Ackermans.
To date, more than 1,000 deaths have been reported and seven out of Haiti's ten departments have now been affected.
Since the beginning of the cholera outbreak, UNICEF has been distributing millions of aquatabs for water purification, thousands of bars of soap, and tons of chlorine for the cleaning of water systems in the capital and elsewhere.
Hospitals and health centres in Port au Prince have received water and sanitation and health packages including chlorine and portable latrines.
UNICEF has assisted the World Health Organisation and NGOs in setting up Cholera Treatment Centers in the capital and rural areas. Thousands of children and parents are being reached with hygiene promotion messages including radio awareness campaigns and posters.
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