25 May 2016 – Two
United Nations agencies said today they are supporting the Government of Haiti
in a vaccination campaign against cholera that aims to reach 400,000 people in
2016.
In a press
release, the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) said the Haitian
Ministry of Public Health and Population is being supported by the Pan American
Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO), as well as by the UN
Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
The first phase of
the campaign was launched on 11 May in the town of Arcahaie, about 30 minutes
north of the capital city of Port-au-Prince. That phase aims to provide two
doses of oral vaccine to some 118,000 people during May and June.
The vaccine
provides warranty protection ranging from three to five years, according to
PAHO/WHO.
A second phase of
the vaccination campaign is planned for the second half of the year. To be
successful, nearly 563,785 additional doses are required.
For both phases of
the campaign, an initial budget of about $3.6 million has been provided.
Previous campaigns
of vaccination against cholera reached 285,534 people – 102,250 in 2013 and
183,284 in 2014.
. |
Government of Haiti has launched a vaccination campaign against cholera that aims to reach 400,000 people in 2016. Photo: UN/MINUSTAH/Logan Abassi |
MINUSTAH stressed
the importance, given the increase in the population, of increasing access to
clean water and sanitation in exposed areas as key to eliminating the disease.
In the first
quarter of 2016, MINUSTAH’s Civil Affairs programme approved or began work on
17 Quick Intervention Projects (QIPs) projects worth some $845,380 to prevent
cholera and other water-borne diarrheal diseases.
This outlay
represents more than 20 per cent of the total 2015-16 QIPs budget. The 17
projects (seven approved; 10 already being implemented) are expected to reach
over 220,000 beneficiaries in seven out of the 10 departments of the country.
Of these, three
projects (totalling some $152,971) deal with renovations or extensions to
health centres, in the West Centre and Grande Anse respectively; while 14
relate to the construction, renovation or extension of local drinking water
systems. The largest of these, in the Village Solidarité in the West
Department, is expected to assure clean drinking water for some 75,000
beneficiaries.
The latest Cholera
Response fact sheet can be found by clicking below
http://www.un.org/News/dh/infocus/haiti/Cholera_UN_Factsheet_April_2016.pdf
Source: UN NEWS CENTRE
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