CERF allocates US$ 1.2 million to respond to cholera epidemic
![Cotton farmers in Burkina Faso see their income dwindling [Photo: IRIN/Ouedraogo]](/Portals/11/Images_country/GUIB_WFP_a boy standing.jpg) |
A malnourished child in Guinea-Bissau
[Photo: WFP] |
4 August 2008: Guinea-Bissau has a history of regular and severe cholera epidemics. In 2005 and 2006, during an epidemic covering nine of eleven districts, over 25,000 cholera cases and 400 deaths were reported. Since the detection of cases of cholera in Guinea-Bissau in May 2008, there have been over 400 cases and at least a dozen deaths. The number of cases per week has increased substantially and there is an urgent need for a speedy and effective response.
The World Health Organization (WHO) is using CERF funds to respond to the outbreak. It is distributing safe drinking water in affected areas and providing mobile treatment centres in under-serviced areas, while supplying laboratories with necessary equipment and materials. Life-saving medicines, as well as medical and non-medical supplies are also being made available to health clinics in Guinea-Bissau.
A CERF grant is allowing the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to respond to the cholera outbreak through a water, sanitation and hygiene project. Safe-drinking water is being provided to distressed communities and purification equipment is being distributed for household use. UNICEF is also ensuring that cholera Emergency Treatment Centres have suitable facilities for cholera patients and messages on proper hygiene practices are being disseminated through media and traditional communication channels to encourage safe behaviours. The 10,000 people who are expected to contract cholera during the epidemic will benefit from the UNICEF and WHO projects.
A cholera epidemic still has not been brought under control despite efforts by the Government and humanitarian partners. The situation has prompted CERF to provide additional $600,000 to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) to stop the spread of the deadly disease in November. Some 20,000 affected people will receive direct assistance, while the entire population of the country will benefit.
[Last Update: 31 December 2008]