As part of the fight against the cholera epidemic, the Ambassador of France in Haiti, Mr. Didier Le Bret, has give this week 150 beds suitable for the treatment of cholera to the French Red Cross. For his part, Thomas Mauget, Coordinator of the French Red Cross operations, has indicated that the cholera beds donation was made possible with the support from the crisis cell of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He has also stressed the importance of equipping the Haitian institutions to be better able to cope with the disease which, enters in a phase endemic.

These beds are designed to strengthen the Cholera Treatment Centre (CTC) located on the site of the Groupe Haïtien d'Etude du Sarcome de Kaposi et des Infections Opportunistes (GHESKIO). Dr. Jean William Pape, director of the Gheskio centers, applauded the efforts of the international partners, particularly in the fight against the epidemic. Dr. Pope has pointed out that the prevalence of HIV/AIDS in people infected with cholera is of 10% while it is 2% among the general population. Gheskio centers have received more than 2,800 patients and recorded only 10 deaths. People with AIDS are more vulnerable, he said indicating that it is important that everything be implemented to combat the disease.

The French ambassador in Haiti, Didier Le Bret, said that this donation was to strengthen the health equipment of the CTC of GHESKIO, because NGOs currently in Haiti to assist, will not remain indefinitely, ultimately the local institutions will have to assume the full responsibility. "The rainy season and large gatherings can cause new outbreaks" warned the diplomat, stressing the need for the Haitian institutions to make the preparation in consequently, not to give up, because the epidemic is not fully mastered and new peaks are expected.

In addition, the France is associated with the implementation of the new strategy, advocated by the experts of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (European CDC) in the fight against cholera. The latter consists to reinforce the epidemiological monitoring by collecting and analyzing reliable data on the ground.

HL/ HaitiLibre