LONDON, (Reuters) – Britain said today it would help pay for more than 1,000 medical staff to fight a raging cholera epidemic in Haiti.
The outbreak in the impoverished Caribbean nation has killed more than 1,400 people in five weeks and the death toll is climbing by dozens each day.
The United Nations’ top humanitarian official earlier this week said 1,000 trained nurses and at least 100 more doctors were urgently needed to control the epidemic, which struck Haiti months after a destructive earthquake.
The British government said it would fund 115 doctors, 920 nurses and 740 support staff from the region to set up 12 major cholera treatment centres and 60 subsidiary units.
It said the medical staff would be able to treat several thousands of cholera victims over the next two months through a 2 million pound ($3.1 million) donation to the Pan American Health Organisation.
Britain said it was also giving 1.9 million pounds to Oxfam and 1 million pounds to another charity, Plan International, to provide clean water and latrines.