Belgium will donate 350,000 dollars (a little over 292,000 euros) to the United Nations Fund for the fight against cholera in Haiti. This was announced by the Foreign Affairs Minister Didier Reynders on Friday evening. This will be added to the one million euros Belgium donated to help reconstruction on the islands most affected by Hurricane Irma, including Haiti, a few days ago.
Friday’s decision is in response to a resolution drawn up the United Nations General Assembly on the 13th of July last year. The UN General Secretary Antonio Guterres also requested contributions on the 25th of July this year, the Minister said.
800,000 people in Haiti have contracted cholera since 2010, Didier Reynders explained. 9,000 of them died.
This voluntary contribution will help kickstart the UN’s new approach to ending the epidemic. There will be increased effort on reducing the transmission of cholera and improving access to treatment, as well as resolving the long term problems of access to clean water and sanitary and health systems. There is a plan to develop material assistance for victims, their families and communities, the Deputy Prime Minister added.
(Source: Belga)
