(MENAFN- AzerNews) By
Clean water and fuel are in demand to fight the cholera outbreak
in Haiti as humanitarian agencies scale up support, UN
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Monday, reports citing .
'We live in an absolutely dramatic situation,' Guterres told
reporters. 'We have the (Port-au-Prince) harbor blocked by gangs,
not allowing fuel and other needed materials to move. We have,
because of that, no fuel in the city. Where there is no fuel, there
is no water.'
The most important treatment for cholera is hydration, but there
is no water available in Port-au-Prince, the Haitian capital, he
said. 'So it's an absolutely nightmarish situation for the
population of Haiti, especially Port-au-Prince.'
The UN chief reiterated his call for an international armed
force to work with Haitian police to release the harbor and
establish a humanitarian corridor 'based on strict humanitarian
criteria, independent of the political dimensions of the problems
that need to be solved by the Haitians themselves.' He underscored
he was not recommending a UN peacekeeping force.
Stephane Dujarric, the chief spokesman for Guterres, said
humanitarian agencies have been visiting cholera treatment centers
managed by nongovernmental organizations in order to scale up
aid.
As of Saturday, the authorities had confirmed 78 cases of
cholera, with 835 suspected cases, including 271 in the
Port-au-Prince national prison alone. There were 36 deaths from
cholera, including 14 in the Port-au-Prince prison, said the
spokesman.
He said some hospitals have reported they cannot perform
required surgeries due to the lack of fuel.
The Pan American Health Organization has launched an emergency
appeal for nearly 13 million U.S. dollars to respond to the cholera
outbreak.
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