|
 Oct.
22, 2012, Washington, D.C. – On the
second anniversary of the outbreak of the cholera epidemic in
Haiti, human rights groups, faith-based organizations, policy
institutes, and humanitarian organizations renew their call for
the United Nations and U.S. government to help Haiti install the
clean water and sanitation infrastructure necessary to control
the ongoing epidemic.
The cholera epidemic in Haiti
has received less U.S. attention during the presidential
campaign season, but it remains a critical problem for this
Caribbean neighbor that is not being adequately addressed and is
undermining broader aid efforts. Last month, 260 new cholera
cases were reported daily, and 2-3 children died a day. Since
the epidemic broke out in October 2010, 7,564 Haitians have
reportedly died from cholera and some 600,000 persons (6% of the
Haitian population) have been infected. The number is
undoubtedly much higher, as cases in more remote areas are often
unreported. As the World Health Organization has stated, those
without access to safe drinking water, proper sanitation, and
hygiene constitute the majority of cholera cases.
Two years after the epidemic
started, not enough action has been taken to assist the
Government of Haiti in acquiring essential water and sanitation
infrastructure. A regional coalition that includes the U.S.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the World Health
Organization is developing a plan with the Government of Haiti
to build water and sanitation systems that will cost $2.2
billion. Despite this encouraging progress, the plan still needs
to be finalized and funded before implementation can begin.
The U.N. especially has a legal
and moral responsibility to play a leadership role in helping
end the epidemic. Independent scientific studies have
established that cholera was brought to Haiti by troops from the
UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) and that the waste
disposal practices at the UN base allowed the bacteria to
contaminate Haiti’s largest river system. The undersigned
groups call on the U.N. to commit long-term resources to work
with the Government of Haiti to build water and sanitation
systems that are critical to halting the continued spread of the
disease.
This July, 104 members of
Congress sent a letter to Susan Rice, U.S. Ambassador to the UN,
requesting that she urge the world body to act decisively to
address Haiti’s cholera crisis. Congressional members Chris
Smith and Albio Sires made a similar plea to Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton. The undersigned groups urge Ambassador Rice
and Secretary Clinton to fulfill these important appeals and to
call on the UN to help Haiti acquire the necessary funding to
develop the water and sanitation infrastructure needed to stop
the epidemic.
Signatory Groups:
Alternative Chance
American Jewish World Service
Canada Haiti Action Network
Center for Economic and Policy Research
Center for Gender & Refugee Studies
Environmental Justice Initiative for Haiti
Grassroots International
Hastings to Haiti Partnership
Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti
Just Foreign Policy
li, li, li! Read
Mennonite Central Committee U.S. Washington
Office
New Media Advocacy Project
Other Worlds
The Haiti Support Group
TransAfrica Forum |
