Race against cholera
Sharp rises in suspected cholera cases and acute diarrhoea after the October 4 hurricane.
Hurricane Matthew’s impact in Haiti continues to endanger the lives and development of children living on the island. Before the hurricane’s landfall, the country already had worrying proportions of malnutrition and under-5 child mortality. Now, the children of Haiti are facing a new catastrophe that could have devastating consequences.
Urging immediate action, Marc Vincent UNICEF Representative in Haiti, warned that “less than two weeks after the hurricane, cholera may be spreading in areas where it previously barely existed”.
Patients are treated for diarrhoea and cholera at Hospital St-Antoine in Jérémie.
Haiti ranks among the top 30 countries with the highest under-five mortality rate. In 2015, 69 children out of every 1000 died, with a leading cause of being diarrhea. A boy is treated at the Hospital St-Antoine in Jérémie.
Haiti is one of the most vulnerable countries to a cholera outbreak. Since 2010, about 10,000 people have died from the disease. So far in 2016, more than 27,000-suspected cases have been reported, one third are children. A boy drinks water in Jérémie.
Lack of adequate sanitation and hygiene conditions cause the spread of cholera and diseases. Even before the hurricane, only 1 in 3 people in Haiti had access to proper latrines and less than 3 in 5 had access to safe water. In Jérémie, a family sorts through the debris of their home.
In Les Cayes, people collect water from a bladder installed at a school sheltering people displaced by the hurricane. UNICEF is working around the clock in support of the government to respond the threat of cholera and meet the needs of the most vulnerable children.
Hurricane Matthew: Help UNICEF to respond now.
