Cholera outbreak in Sierra Leone, killing many: UN

Posted on August 18, 2012

Cholera outbreak in Sierra Leone, killing many: UN

More than 100 people have been killed in a cholera outbreak in Sierra Leone since the beginning of the year.

The United Nation Deputy Spokesman, Eduardo del Buey said the epidemic is the worst in 15 years, affecting regions including Freetown the capital.

"Since the beginning of the year, more than 100 deaths and 6, 200 cholera infections have been reported in Sierra Leone, constituting the worst cholera epidemic in 15 years," del Buey said, citing information from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Response
Mr. del Buey said nearly 2.5 million (U.S.) dollars from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) has been allocated to UN agencies to respond to the epidemic.

"The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) will use the funding for emergency response," he said.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), eight of the country's 13 districts are affected by the outbreak, with the increase in the number of cases in the western area of particular concern.

National emergency
The Sierra Leonean government in conjunction with officials of the World Health Organisation and UNICEF, has declared the cholera outbreak a national emergency.

The government has however, set up a special task force to deal with the epidemic.

XINHUA/Ibisaki/Hajia Sani