Lebanon: UNICEF Activates Emergency Response After a Cholera Cases
Lebanese Health workers, Oct 2024 Photo: People Gazette
October 18, 2024 Hour: 11:54 am
UNICEF announced this Friday that it has activated its emergency response to cholera together with the Ministry of Health and other partners to help protect children and families by containing the disease, Following the confirmation of a case of cholera in the governorate of Akkar, in northern Lebanon.
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“UNICEF is making significant efforts to support the preparedness, prevention and response measures of the Ministry of Public Health to help protect all children and families in Lebanon from the spread of cholera”, said in a statement the representative of UNICEF in Lebanon, Edouard Beigbeder.
Since last Wednesday, when the first case was announced, the UN agency has delivered critical supplies including water purification tablets, disinfection kits, household hygiene and bottled water, among others.
War is damaging, disrupting and testing water and sanitation services, according to UNICEF, which added that limited access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation, especially in overcrowded displacement sites and camps, increases the risk of cholera spreading.
“Young children, especially those under 5 years old, children who have never been vaccinated and those suffering from malnutrition are at particular risk,” he said.
“A ceasefire is more important than ever to protect children from death and injury, to stop the growing humanitarian crisis on the ground and to focus on ensuring basic services function properly,” Beigbeder said.
The Lebanese Minister of Public Health, Firas Abiad, this Friday unlinked the first case of cholera detected from the wave of thousands of displaced people fleeing the Israeli attacks and sheltering in shelters provided by the Lebanese government, that they are at the peak of their capacity.
Autor: OSG
Fuente: EFE-Reuters
