The “alarm bell” for the situation prevailing in Haiti was “sounded” yesterday Thursday by UN given that the country is plagued by poverty and extreme violence.
The UN he also warned of the risk of an “explosion” of cases of cholera in Haiti, as seven new deaths and one more case were announced on Sunday.
The cholera bacterium was spread to the country by blue-collar workers in 2010. The epidemic lasted until 2019, killing more than 10,000 people in Haiti.
Fears of a new tragedy, are rekindling as Haiti faces fuel shortages, leaving citizens without access to potable water and hampering hospital operations.
Since the detection of the cholera bacillus, which is transmitted through water, 11 cases have been confirmed and another 111 are suspected. For now, all of them in the capital Port-au-Prince, at least as the UN humanitarian coordinator for the country, Ulrika Richardson, said yesterday at a press conference in Haiti.
“The numbers could be much higher,” Ms. Richardson noted, while clarifying that the analyzes being done abroad to identify whether it is the same strain as that of 2010 have not yet been completed.
“With the current situation in the country (…) we may be faced with an exponential increase, or even an explosion of cholera cases,” she warned.
Following Prime Minister Ariel Henri’s September 11 announcement of fuel price hikes, the already crisis-ridden country has seen violence, looting and demonstrations. Since mid-September the country’s largest oil terminal, Varreux, has been blockaded by armed gangs.
“That means the whole country is starting to run out of fuel,” forcing some health services to shut down and preventing waste collection, Richardson added.
“Humanitarian Corridor”
Clean drinking water is one of the basic conditions for limiting the cholera epidemic, the bacterium of which is transmitted through water, and for “saving lives”, she noted, underlining that almost half of Haiti’s population suffers from the disease. hunger.
“It is the combination of an already serious and appalling humanitarian situation (…) made worse by the economic crisis, the price of fuel and insecurity,” complained Richardson.
In these conditions, the UN and other humanitarian organizations, whose work has been complicated by the security situation, requested yesterday “to immediately create a humanitarian corridor so that fuel can be imported into the country and the immediate needs of the population can be addressed.”
For Richardson, this appeal is directed mainly to the Haitian government, which “must do everything possible to lift the blockade of the terminal”, but also to the gangs “who have blockaded it”, a situation that “literally kills people”. Finally, the appeal is a message to the international community which “must support Haiti to strengthen its security forces which seem unable to lift the blockade of the terminal”.
A weakness that Henri seems to recognize: “I am asking for help,” he said Wednesday night, addressing “the friendly countries of Haiti.”
“We want these countries to help us lift the blockade of the road leading to the central oil terminal so that fuel is available at the stations,” he added, accusing armed gangs of holding the country “hostage” and causing an “unprecedented humanitarian crisis”.
Welcoming the “efforts” of the Haitian police “to maintain calm”, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken underlined that the country needs help. “They need us to continue our support”, he underlined.
Five years after the withdrawal of the blue-collar workers from Haiti, the UN Security Council is expected to meet again on the situation in the country on October 21.
In July, it adopted a resolution calling on UN member states to ban the transfer of small arms to the gangs infesting Haiti, without calling for an embargo, which China insists it wants.
The US and Mexico, which drafted that draft resolution, have indicated they are working on a new one.
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I am currently a news writer for News Bulletin247 where I mostly cover sports news. I have always been interested in writing and it is something I am very passionate about. In my spare time, I enjoy reading and spending time with my family and friends.
