Haiti cholera challenge 'failed' by agencies

Haiti cholera challenge 'failed' by agencies

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By Mark Doyle BBC International Development Correspondent

The cholera outbreak that has killed 3,600 people in Haiti since October 2010 has not been suppressed - despite billions of dollars in promised aid, according to a report by Haitian and US researchers.

The report says more than a third of people made homeless by the massive earthquake in January 2010, and now living in tents, still do not have access to clean water, and a quarter still do not have a toilet.

This is despite highly-publicised promises of help by aid agencies and foreign governments.

Cholera is spread through contact with human faeces - so lack of washing and toilet facilities is a direct cause of death.

The study says the epidemic has not yet peaked, so unless the situation is addressed there will be more unnecessary deaths.

The report, by New York's City University, is based on a survey by Haitian sociologists. It says aid agencies have failed to address the real causes of the cholera outbreak - including widespread poverty and unemployment that was endemic before last January's earthquake.

"Much more progress needs to be made", says the enquiry; "not only in aid delivery but in coordination".

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ENDS

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