The United Nations announced Thursday the delivery of $9.5 million (a similar figure in euros) to Lebanon to support the response to the cholera outbreak in the country, which has so far left 448 cases and 18 dead.
The UN humanitarian coordinator in Lebanon, Imran Riza, said in a statement that the funds, drawn from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) and the Lebanon Humanitarian Fund (LHF), are intended to help more than 1.5 million people.
«This $9.5 million directly affects more than 1.5 million people in Lebanon, including Lebanese, Syrian refugees, Palestinian refugees and migrants who are at high risk of exposure to cholera,» he explained.
In this regard, he noted that the response seeks to support containment and rapid response activities, which he described as «crucial to prevent loss of life and contain the spread of the disease in high-risk areas.»
A total of $5 million of these funds will also provide additional support through the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other NGOs working with these agencies.
«We hope that the implementation, in close coordination with the government, of a series of well-coordinated interventions will limit the spread of the disease and mitigate the impact on the population. We are counting on the donor community to continue to support us in this regard,» said Riza.
He called on the Lebanese government to «increase its efforts to ensure the delivery of basic services to the population.» «The responsibility for uninterrupted power supply for water networks and waste management remains with the government,» he reminded.
«A comprehensive solution to the current energy crisis will be the only sustainable and efficient way to meaningfully combat the disease and avoid recurrent outbreaks in the future,» concluded the UN humanitarian coordinator for Lebanon.
The WHO confirmed Thursday the arrival of cholera vaccines in the country in preparation for the launch of an immunization campaign.
«Cholera vaccines are a crucial tool to protect people and limit the spread of the outbreak, but they are not the only tool we have to fight cholera,» said the agency’s representative in Lebanon, Abdinasir Abubakar.
«We can effectively prevent cholera by improving access to clean water, proper hygiene and hygienic practices. Let us ensure that people have access to all these interventions,» he said.
Cholera is an acute diarrheal disease caused by ingestion of food or water contaminated with the ‘vibrio cholerae bacillus’, as highlighted by WHO on its website, where it stresses that «cholera remains a global threat to public health and an indicator of inequity and lack of social development».
