CARICOM tackles cholera

The CARICOM Secretariat says it is involved in a water, sanitation and hygiene project, in support of the efforts by the Haitian authorities to deal with a cholera outbreak that has killed nearly 7,000 people since October last year.



CARICOM said the project, dubbed WASH will improve sanitation infrastructure and sensitise Haitians on the practice of safe personal and community hygiene.



It said the project will improve access to 25 toilet blocks and hand-washing stations for approximately 15,000 residents in the neighbourhood of Brooklyn, a section of Cite Soleil in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area.



CARICOM is also providing medical supplies as part of its assistance to the Government of Haiti in combating the cholera epidemic.



Cholera is a disease that spreads through human waste and infected water.



Victims can die within hours if they are not treated immediately.