The news out of Haiti is grim. A cholera epidemic is sweeping through the country. It has already claimed over 1,000 lives and is likely to kill many more. The source of the epidemic is the Artibonite River which has become contaminated with waste and feces containing the cholera bacteria, a pathogen previously unknown in Haiti. The disease first broke out among people who live alongside the river. There is a United Nations base adjacent to the river, and during the first days of the epidemic, investigators noticed that people living upstream from the base were unaffected, while those living downstream from the base contracted the disease. Many people began to suspect the base as the potential source of the new infection.
Journalists investigating the area discovered that peacekeepers from Nepal stationed at the base had built a latrine and a makeshift sewage/ drainage system with PVC pipes that drained into the Meye, a tributary of the Artibonite river. Aljazeera, the Associated Press, and other journalists interviewed individuals who observed waste flowing from the base into the river. Aljazeera’s journalist complained that he and other journalists were not allowed inside the base but were able to smell the stench and to photograph the latrine that the UN built next to the river. Perhaps the UN was unaware that the Meye merges with the important Artibonite River.
The Nepalese peacekeepers arrived at this base near the Artibonite in early October. Cholera is endemic to Nepal and the country recently battled a surge in cholera infections during the months prior to the peacekeepers arrival in Haiti.
Confronted with evidence linking the cholera epidemic to the UN-Nepalese peacekeepers stationed along the river, the United Nations has recoiled into a protective mode. Despite the fact that the infection can be mild and resolve quickly among people who have been previously exposed to the disease, the UN claims that none of its soldiers had diarrhea and none tested positive for cholera.
The Haitian government, which depends militarily on the UN, has been steadfast in deflecting attention from the base, going as far as to announce the novel concept that it isn’t important to find the origin of the disease. The Haitian Minister of Health declared, “There has been diarrhea in Haiti. There will always be diarrhea in Haiti. But not all diarrhea is cholera…”
The Center for Disease Control, (CDC) reported that the strain of cholera ravaging Haiti is similar to the strain present in Nepal. Despite this additional finding, the UN maintains that there is no reason to investigate the matter further.
At this point, finding out how cholera got to Haiti is not as crucial as treating the victims and at preventing its spread. However, the origin of the infection is important. The UN moves a lot of people all around the world. If, as the evidence suggests, the infection came from the UN base, then by admitting it, the UN can explore ways of preventing similar catastrophes in the future. One glaring lesson is not to build a sewage system so close to a river. Whether or not the infection came from the base as the evidence suggests, the UN peacekeepers were reckless in building a sewage system adjacent to one of Haiti’s main water sources.
The world depends on the UN to be an organization with expertise and with sound management. This cholera epidemic puts these assumptions in doubt. To prevent further erosion of public confidence, the UN should:
1. Consider apologizing for introducing the infection. At a minimum, it should apologize for its reckless behavior, the building of a latrine on a river.
2. Assist in mobilizing resources to contain the epidemic and to care for those afflicted.
3. Provide assistance in establishing clean water and sanitation facilities in the regions affected because this is the only way of minimizing further damage.
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