The United Nations (UN) secretary general has expressed deep concern about the health and safety of people in Haiti following the confirmation of two positive cases of cholera and multiple suspected cases in the capital, Port-au-Prince.
“The United Nations is ready to deploy emergency response teams to support affected communities as soon as safe access is assured and fuel supplies are unblocked,” said Stéphane Dujarric, spokesman for Secretary General António Guterres.
“The secretary general calls for immediate and unfettered access on the ground to facilitate the delivery of fuel for humanitarian purposes.
“Fuel deliveries have been blocked at the port since mid-September, which has disrupted not only the daily life of the Haitian people, but also the ability and capacity of the United Nations and the international community to respond to a compounding crisis.”
The secretary general appealed to all stakeholders to work together in this time of crisis, to ensure that the gains made over the past 12 years in the fight against cholera are not eroded.
The Miami Herald reported on Sunday that after more than three years without a single confirmed case of cholera, Haiti confirmed the deaths of at least eight people from the deadly waterborne disease.
Cholera is usually spread through contaminated water and causes severe diarrhea and dehydration.
Many Haitians have been denied access to necessities amidst a worsening security situation.
Last month, the UN and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) both expressed worries over the continuing deterioration of the security situation and the social circumstances in Haiti.
“The continued breakdown in law and order, and its distressing effect on the people of Haiti, is intensifying,” CARICOM said.
“The fraught situation is exacerbated by the inability of the Haitian security forces to address the ongoing violence.”
Haiti experienced violent protests after the government announced a hike in fuel prices.
CARICOM said the unrest was having a negative impact on the already weak economy leading to even more mass demonstrations.
Guterres, meanwhile, warned that if the current circumstances continue, the already dire humanitarian situation faced by Haiti’s most vulnerable people will deteriorate even further.
At a funeral on Saturday for nine women and an infant who died in a smuggling tragedy off New Providence on July 24, Rev. Dr. Antoine St. Louis, president of United Association of Haitians in The Bahamas, appealed to the Haitian government to do more to stabilize the situation in Haiti.
“We can send a clear message by way of the ambassador that the Haitian government must do more. They must do more to stop the gangs in Haiti. They need to establish more work, so that these young people will not lose their lives this way,” St. Louis said.
