Haiti government asks for international military assistance Published duration 28 June 2017
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A top United Nations official has called on the international community to donate $17m (£13.7m) to the government of Haiti over the next five years to help it fight the devastating cholera outbreak.
UN official Jan Eliasson said the money could be used for a campaign to rebuild homes and communities, protect vulnerable women and children and improve health services.
Haiti has faced one of the world’s worst cholera epidemics in recent years, with more than 2,500 suspected and confirmed cases of the disease and over 300 deaths.
The $17m is the first tranche of a pledge of $100m promised by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
The UN wants the money sent directly to Haiti over five years to help tackle the outbreak.
In addition to the $1m earmarked for cholera, the UN is also asking for $21m in emergency funds and $6.5m to help fund the response to the outbreak.
The UN secretary-general has asked for $3.2bn to fight violence and rebuild communities in conflict-affected countries like Haiti.
Speaking during a visit to a community in the Dominican Republic on Friday, Mr Eliasson said such a massive financial package would transform the life of the Haitian people.
“This is an opportunity that we must seize,” he said.
media caption Cholera: BBC’s Mark Middleton on the outbreak in Africa
Cholera is a leading cause of death in Haiti, with more than 7,800 suspected and confirmed cases in 2016, nearly half of them fatal.
Last month the UN’s World Health Organisation (WHO) said it was not alone in the fight against the epidemic, with the US, UK, Canada, Germany and Colombia also contributing.
The cholera outbreak is the worst the country has faced since 1985, when the death toll hit 2,639.
There was an influx of refugees fleeing