UNITED NATIONS TO HOST WEST AFRICAN FORUM ON CHOLERA IN DAKAR, SENEGAL

UNITED NATIONS TO HOST WEST AFRICAN FORUM ON CHOLERA IN DAKAR , SENEGAL

NEW YORK, 25 August (OCHA) -- The alarming scope and size of cholera outbreaks in the West African region this summer has prompted the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) to organize a regional meeting of United Nations agencies and non-governmental organizations working to arrest the spread of the disease.  The meeting, to be held early next week in Dakar, Senegal, will assess the scope of the outbreak and response to date, and agree on priority actions to enhance future responses.

According to OCHA’s regional office for West Africa, the total number of cholera cases recorded in the subregion in 2005 stands at 24,621.  There have been 401 deaths due to the disease in affected countries, including in Burkina Faso, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, and Senegal.

To date, 295 cases of cholera, and eight deaths, have been recorded in Burkina Faso; 1,058 cases and 62 deaths in Guinea; 9,047 cases and 172 deaths in Guinea-Bissau; 3,890 cases and 29 deaths in Liberia; 153 cases and 20 deaths in Mali; 1,087 cases in Mauritania; 99 cases and 10 deaths in Niger, and 8,992 cases and 100 deaths in Senegal.

The country hardest hit by the cholera epidemic is Guinea-Bissau, where both the number of affected persons and the number of deaths have nearly doubled in the last two weeks.  Approximately 110 new cases of cholera continue to be diagnosed daily.  The Government of Guinea-Bissau appealed for some $104,000 in international assistance to respond to the cholera epidemic two weeks ago.  Donations of medicine have been received from France and Portugal, but the need for additional assistance continues.

Cholera is an acute intestinal infection caused by consuming contaminated food or water.  It can quickly cause severe dehydration leading to death, although a simple mix of water, sugar and salts is enough to save many lives.

For further information, please call:  Kristen Knutson, OCHA New York, tel.:  917 367-9262, mobile:  917 892-1679; Elizabeth Byrs, OCHA Geneva, tel.:  +41 22 917 2653.

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For information media • not an official record