August 13, 2016•Update: August 13, 2016
By Hassan Isilow
JOHANNESBURG
At least 16 people have died amid a cholera outbreak in parts of the troubled Central African Republic (CAR), local authorities and international humanitarian groups said Friday.
The United Nations’ Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian affairs (OCHA) said in a statement that the Central African Republic’s Health Ministry declared a cholera outbreak in the country on Wednesday after several samples tested positive.
The group also said at least 66 cases of cases have been identified in the country’s central region.
OCHA said international humanitarian groups working in the country have already set up a task force to ensure an effective response to the crisis.
Cholera is an acute diarrheal infection caused by the ingestion of food or water contaminated with bacteria. If left untreated, the disease can kill within hours.
“I assure the people of CAR that the UN and our humanitarian partners are fully committed to support the government in its fight against this cholera epidemic,” said Fabrizio Hochschild, the UN’s humanitarian coordinator in the Central African Republic.
The nation, still recovering from years of conflict, still faces a number of challenges, including resettling thousands of people who fled their homes to refugee camps.
