UN allocates 1 mln USD for urgent response to cholera outbreak in Chad

UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher has allocated 1 million U.S. dollars from the Central Emergency Response Fund for an urgent response to the deadly cholera outbreak in Chad, a UN spokesperson said Tuesday.

The new funding, which complements 3 million dollars previously allocated for cholera in Chad, aims to contain the spread of the disease, mainly by improving access to water and sanitation, providing medical support, and strengthening community engagement to raise awareness of the risks and encourage proactive prevention, Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN secretary-general, told a daily briefing.

As of Sunday, more than 2,600 suspected cases and nearly 150 deaths had been reported in the country, where the outbreak is impacting the eastern provinces of Ouaddai and Sila -- which are hosting large numbers of people displaced by the conflict in neighboring Sudan -- as well as the central province of Guera, Dujarric said.

The figures indicate a potential case fatality rate of nearly 6 percent, far higher than the emergency threshold of 1 percent, as defined by the World Health Organization, he said.

So far this year, the Central Emergency Response Fund has released 11 million dollars to mitigate and respond to cholera outbreaks in five African countries, including Chad, according to the spokesperson. Enditem