Forty percent of the victims of the cholera that has been spreading in Haiti for almost two months are children, according to UNICEF.
Monsignor Joji Vadakara, Vatican City
The United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, said that two out of five cholera victims that have been spreading in the Caribbean country of Haiti for the past two months are children, and so far around a thousand cases of cholera have been reported. More than 10,000 people are suspected to have contracted cholera. Currently, 188 people have died due to cholera in the last two months.
Since the cholera epidemic was reported in Haiti, nine out of ten of those who have fallen ill have come from the areas of the country most affected by the nutrition crisis. Children suffering from severe malnutrition are twice as likely to catch cholera and three times more likely to die, according to UNICEF.
Speaking about the situation of children in Haiti, Manuel Fontaine, Director of the UNICEF Emergency Program Office, said that children in the country face three main threats: malnutrition, cholera and armed attacks. According to Ministry of Health data, 924 cholera cases and 188 cholera deaths have been reported in Haiti as of November 21.
In a context of severe uncertainty and instability, UNICEF, in collaboration with the Haitian authorities and other partners, has strengthened its response to cholera.
Over the next five months, nearly $30 million in funding is expected to boost cholera prevention efforts and provide clean water, nutrition, and health and safety assistance to 14 million people.
