Statement of Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos on the Cholera Situation in Haiti

(New York, 10 December 2010): Recent violence is severely impeding access to the lifesaving medical assistance people need to combat cholera. The civil unrest has also hampered health promotion work and water distribution, which is critical to reducing infection and mortality rates. It is essential that those responding to the cholera outbreak are allowed to work and that people needing help are able to get to medical facilities.For further information, please call:

OCHA-New York: Stephanie Bunker, +1 917 367 5126, mobile +1 347 244 2106, bunker@un.org; Nicholas Reader, +1 212 963 4961, mobile +1 646 752 3117, reader@un.org, OCHA-Geneva: Elisabeth Byrs, +41 22 917 2653, mobile +41 79 473 4570, byrs@un.org

OCHA press releases are available at http://ochaonline.un.org or www.reliefweb.int

For more information about CERF, please see http://cerf.un.org

The mission of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is to mobilize and coordinate effective and principled humanitarian action in partnership with national and international actors