UNITED NATIONS APPEALS FOR $3.2 MILLION TO FIGHT CHOLERA IN WEST AFRICA

UNITED NATIONS APPEALS FOR $3.2 MILLION TO FIGHT CHOLERA IN WEST AFRICA

DAKAR/GENEVA/ NEW YORK, 7 November (OCHA) -- The alarming wave of cholera that swept across the West Africa subregion this summer has prompted the United Nations today to launch a $3.2 million flash appeal for additional assistance to prevent the disease’s further spread.

At the height of the epidemic late this summer, more than 42,000 infected people -- and 702 deaths -- had been recorded across eight countries, including Burkina Faso, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Senegal.

“It is essential that we contain this outbreak in the subregion and assist national health systems to eliminate the epidemic in order to prevent its becoming a chronic problem and spreading to neighbouring countries, including Nigeria, Chad and Cameroon”, said Hervé Ludovic de Lys, Director of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) regional office in West Africa.

While the situation in several countries appears to have been brought under control, the subregion as a whole continues to require increased epidemiological surveillance and prevention support.  Many countries have seen the fatality rate of cholera decrease recently, yet the probability of renewed attacks is still high, particularly in Guinea-Bissau.  There is also concern that the outbreaks could spread to other countries in Central Africa within the next few weeks.

Cholera causes significant human suffering, disrupts social and economic structures, and puts tremendous strain on already precarious national health systems.  The disease occurs mainly in areas with limited access to water and inadequate sanitation.  Seasonal factors, such as the rainy season, contribute to the disease’s spread.  Cholera can be prevented, provided adequate controls are in place, but limited resources have hampered support for a more comprehensive and coherent approach at both the local and subregional levels.

Already this year, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), working with national and international health partners, have provided support at the country and subregional level, including through strengthening surveillance activities, public information campaigns, pre-positioning of emergency treatment supplies and chlorination of water supplies.

The United Nations has conducted needs assessments in parallel with ongoing prevention and treatment programmes in the affected countries and is now requesting $3.2 million in increased donor support to cover epidemiological surveillance and prevention activities for the next six months.  For the Gambia, approximately $158,000 is requested; for Guinea-Bissau, nearly $1.7 million; for Mali, $392,000; for Mauritania, nearly $228,000; for Sao Tome and Principe, $238,000; and for Senegal, $212,000.  The remaining funds will cover monitoring and coordination needs.

For further information, please call:  Stephanie Bunker, OCHA- New York, tel.:  +1 917 367 5126, mobile:  +1 917 892 1679; Kristen Knutson, OCHA- New York, tel.:  +1 917 367 9262; Elizabeth Byrs, OCHA-Geneva, tel.:  +41 22 917 2653, mobile:  +41 79 473 4570; or Maya Siblini, OCHA-Dakar, tel.:  +221 867 2757, mobile:  +221 639 2018.

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