The UN Brought Cholera—Haiti Beat It
A decade ago, Haiti’s devastating earthquake was followed up with a cholera outbreak that caught the country completely off guard.
Where did it start? At a now-infamous “Minustah” UN base, from which sick peacekeepers’ waste flowed into a key river.
While the key to treating cholera is simple rehydration, in a broken health system even that can prove a mammoth task.
But Haiti eventually beat the outbreak, and has seen no new cases for over a year.
Its innovative approach for fighting cholera—and stigma—at the community level could become a model for endemic countries.
The next challenge: Securing reparations for Minustah’s negligence.
The Guardian
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