UN should apologize for #cholera in #Haiti
►http://crofsblogs.typepad.com/h5n1/2012/08/thinktank-un-should-apologize-for-cholera-in-haiti.html
A thinktank called the International Crisis Group has released a report titled Towards a Post-MINUSTAH Haiti: Making an Effective Transition. Excerpt from the executive summary and recommendations:
To the UN Secretary-General: ...
5. Respond to the cholera epidemic by:
a) apologising for the perceived failures of some units to appropriately dispose of human waste in relation to the cholera epidemic, regardless of ongoing scientific disputes as to the devastating epidemic’s origins;
b) directing that MINUSTAH undertake further actions in conjunction with the Haitian government to reduce the short-term spread of the disease prioritising vaccination in remote areas, access to drinking water, and treatment;
c) convening additional donors’ commitment to the ten-year comprehensive water and sanitation infrastructure investment project now recommended by the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO)/ World Health Organization (WHO) and the health ministries of Haiti and the Dominican Republic; and
d) reporting to the Security Council on the pace of implementation of the recommendations of the expert group on cholera for all peacekeeping missions.
Somehow I don’t think a “Sorry about that” for “perceived failures,” plus vague promises of more money for sanitation, will quite make up for half a million cholera cases and over 7,000 deaths.