Haiti cholera panel skirts question of responsibility

The panel appointed by the UN to find the cause of Haiti’s cholera epidemic concludes that contamination from the UN peacekeepers’ camp is “likely” and gives recommendations on how to avoid similar crises in the future. However, according to AlertNet, a UN spokesman “said that could not be seen as conclusive” and the panel cited “a confluence of circumstances” as the overall cause.

Recommendations for future peacekeeping missions include screening personnel from areas where cholera is present and giving them antibiotics before their departure.

Anti-UN riots erupted in 2010 due to the belief that UN peacekeepers contaminated the Artibonite River system with human waste from leaky latrines.

For more information, see AlertNet’s article covering the report. 

For a list of InterAction members working in Haiti, see our crisis response list.