In December 2016, when then-Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon apologized to Haitians for the UN cholera epidemic for the first time, he also announced a $400 million plan to reduce cholera and aid cholera victims. So far, the plan is only about 2% funded from voluntary contributions and pledges from UN member states. The new Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, has asked all member states to notify him of their intentions regarding the plan by March 6. IJDH Director Brian Concannon emphasizes that despite funding concerns, the UN must consult with cholera victims and their families as it had originally promised. So far, there has been no word of these consultations beginning.

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UN Fund to Fight Cholera in Haiti Hovers at 2 Percent of Goal

Carol Guensburg, VOA News

March 1, 2017

Late last year, the United Nations vowed to intensify the fight against a deadly cholera outbreak its peacekeepers inadvertently carried to Haiti.

To date, however, the UN has raised just a small fraction of the estimated $400 million needed over the next two years to wage that campaign, according to a letter from the new secretary-general.

“The voluntary contributions that have been received are not yet sufficient and constitute only 2 percent of the amount,” Antonio Guterres wrote in the letter sent last week to permanent representatives of the international body.

That would mean about $8 million. The letter said that as of February 8, five member states — Chile, France, India, Liechtenstein and South Korea — collectively had pledged almost $2 million to a U.N. multi-partner trust fund. Outside of that fund, Japan has promised $2.6 million and Canada has committed about $6 million.

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