Haiti’s poor Infrastructure already shattered by earthquake in January 2010 is now facing the rapid spread of water borne disease in the country.
The UN is facing claims from Haitian cholera victims, IJDH filed the demand on behalf of some 5,000 victims ( IJDH, Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti is a Boston- based human right group). The IJHD is demanding $50,000 in compensation for each sick people and $ 100,000 for each death.
The IJDH argues that infected UN peacekeeper troops from Nepal, caused the cholera outbreak. They claim that UN mission in Haiti failed to screen peacekeeper for cholera and allowed dumping of untreated water from their rural base camp into a tributary of the Artibonite river.
The study published by UN scientific experts in may reported that it was not possible to be conclusive about how cholera was introduced into Haiti. UN reported the outbreak of epidemic cholera in Haiti was the result of a ‘confluence of circumstances’ rather than the fault of a group or individual.
Several studies have concluded that UN peacekeepers from Nepal carried cholera to Haiti. Studies strongly suggest that the disease was introduced by UN peace keepers troops from Nepal living in a rural base where poor santitary conditions allowed human waste to enter the tributary system of most important river. US center for disease control also linked the cholera outbreak to Nepalese troops.
Since the cholera outbreak that begun in October 2010 more that 6,500 have died of cholera and nearly 500,000 have been sick according, to the Haitian Ministry of Health.
Ref:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-15648110
