Haiti Catholic Nuns Attacked 39 Times Since November, Officials Blame Gang Members

By  Thomas Barrabi @TBarrabi t.barrabi@ibtimes.com on March 31 2015 8:57 AM EDT

    

Catholic faithful walk after attending a mass during Palm Sunday in Port-au-Prince, March 29, 2015. Reuters 

                 

Catholic nuns have been the primary targets in a series of 39 attacks on at least 27 separate religious outposts in Haiti since November 2014, according to a report. Authorities have yet to determine the motive behind the attacks, though the individuals responsible have repeatedly robbed convents of valuables and singled out nuns for physical violence.

The attacks against members of the Catholic Church have occurred throughout Haiti in six regional departments, according to an exclusive report by the Miami Herald. There have been unconfirmed reports that rapes occurred during some of the assaults, which have yet to directly result in a death but have often led to serious injury.

“Some communities have been hit three, four times,” said Herve Zamor of Conference Haitienne des Religieuses, which coordinates Catholic groups that work in Haiti. “These are communities that don’t have money. There has to be another reason. We believe there is a hidden motivation behind it.
What? I don’t know.”

Haitian police said last week they had arrested five members of the gang responsible for carrying out the attacks and continue to search for an additional 10 gang members. Authorities assert the gang attacked nuns because they have no means of self-defense. “For [gang members], they only deal with their Bibles, their rosaries,” police spokesman Gary Desrosiers told the Herald.

Critics have questioned whether police have actually dismantled the gang responsible for the attacks, the cause of which remains a source of debate. It’s possible the violence was politically-motivated, given Haiti’s tense climate ahead of long-delayed elections later this year, as well as the Catholic Church’s prominent standing in the nation.

“It’s really hard to believe and I can’t figure out what’s really going on,” said William O’Neil, a human rights layer in Haiti. “It seems like it’s something more than pure robbery. But what and who is behind it, who knows?”

Haiti’s next presidential election will be held on Oct. 25, while votes on the nation’s chamber of deputies and the majority of its Senate seats will be held Aug. 9, Haiti’s electoral council said earlier this month. Haiti has not held a Senate election since May 2012. Former Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe was forced to step down in January amid widespread protests after Haiti failed to hold elections as scandals.

The looming elections, as well as a recent increase in social tensions and protests, led Haitian President Michel Martelly to ask the United Nations to delay its planned reduction of its peacekeeping mission in Haiti.

“At the same time, the Haitian government would appreciate there be a bolstered [U.N.] police presence as well as a bolstered presence on the ground for increased support for the Haitian National Police and stronger participation in the daily task of security and protection of civilians,” Haiti’s United Nations ambassador Denis Regis said March 18, according to the Herald.

Haiti - Security: Military Marching In The Streets Of Port-au-Prince

Haiti - Security : Military marching in the streets of Port-au-Prince
(Haiti Libre) - 31/03/2015 10:37:37

Sunday, on the occasion of 28 years of the Constitution of 1987, hundreds of demobilized former soldiers of the Armed Forces of Haiti (FAd'H) and young recruits in military fatigues but not armed, marched from the base of former military to Merger, until the Champ-de-Mars, under the supervision of the National Police of Haiti (PNH). The march took place without incident under the eyes of passersby.

"This march is to ask the President Martelly to meet his campaign promises [...]," explained Jean Fednel Lafalaise a military at the head of the march.

"Today we are about 1,500 [to march] but we are 6,984 young people at the base of Merger, and 14,000 across the country [...] young people today who have not experienced the army of yesteryear have the chance to live with us, we prepare them. You can see girls and boys in our midst. We have about 72 women at the base of Merger [...] In security and military matters, we can not reveal what we will do, except that today, we do not consider us as rebels or as violent. We ask that the Constitution be respected to the letter [The Constitution recognizes two forces in Haitian territory, the Police and the Army]. Today [...] we want to say the President to rescind the order that President Aristide had taken in 1995 and to appoint a Command in chief for us..."

For the commander Jeudy, "it is important that the armed forces back in Haiti, especially in the current environment, to protect the population at the border with the Dominican Republic."

Catholic Nuns Target Of Violence In Haiti

Catholic nuns target of violence in Haiti

By Jacqueline Charles
jcharles@MiamiHerald.com

 

› ‹

The Archbishop of Cap-Haïtien, Bishop Max Leroy Mesidor, joins other priests, nuns and parishioners in a silent march last month in Haiti’s second-largest city to protest more than two dozen attacks against religious communities across the country. Courtesy of Le Nouvelliste Gérard Maxineau

Even before one of them put a shotgun to her throat screaming “Money, money!” Sister Marie de la Croix knew what the intruders wanted after being awakened by rocks raining down on the house next door.
 

The noise was soon followed by gunshots, and then the cries for help of Father Louis Marie.

The home invasion robbery last month in the isolated hillside community of Aux Cadets in the mountains above Port-au-Prince was the latest incident in a puzzling crime spree. In recent days, outraged and frustrated Roman Catholic Church clergy have taken to the airwaves to denounce what one prelate called “despicable, barbaric acts against human dignity,” while Catholic faithfuls have flocked to the streets in protest.

Since November, at least 27 religious communities, mostly nuns, have been the target of 39 attacks in six regional departments, Roman Catholic Church officials say. Convents have been ransacked, nuns beaten and in the case of Father Marie, shot four times and left for dead.

So far, no one has been killed, although a traumatized nun died in surgery and another slipped into a coma after attacks. Officials declined to confirm reports that several have been raped.

 

“Some communities have been hit three, four times,” said Brother Hervé Zamor, head of the Conférence Haïtienne des Religieuses (CHR), which oversees Catholic groups operating in Haiti.

“These are communities that don’t have money. There has to be another reason. We believe there is a hidden motivation behind it. What? I don’t know.”

The brazen criminal acts come as Haiti sees a huge drop in kidnappings but a disturbing spike in gun- and gang-related violence. Statistics from the Haiti National Police, the United Nations and the National Episcopal Justice and Peace Commission show that since summer, the security climate has been worsening, with police struggling to control violence.

The crime is mostly concentrated in metropolitan Port-au-Prince, which accounts for nearly 80 percent of Haiti’s homicides. And while Haiti still boasts one of the lowest homicide rates in the region, with 10.5 people killed per 100,000 inhabitants, according to the U.N., there is deep fear of it all unraveling as the country prepares to shoulder most of the responsibility in organizing three elections in the coming months.

The political uncertainty, coupled with the drawdown of half of the country’s U.N. peacekeeping force and the continued challenges by police in deterring crime, make the religious attacks even more troubling.

“Every time we have elections in Haiti, there is always a wave of insecurity,” Zamor said. “There are always people looking to destabilize the situation.”

Politically motivated violence against the Catholic Church isn’t unheard of in Haiti, where the church has long played a leadership role in mediating the political crisis. But never before have nuns been “systematically attacked,” observers note.

“It’s really hard to believe and I can’t figure out what’s really going on,” said William O’Neil, a longtime human rights lawyer who has been involved with Haiti. “It seems like it’s something more than pure robbery. But what and who is behind it, who knows?”

Last week, police announced they had dismantled the gang responsible, arrested five suspects and had a manhunt for 10 others.

Police spokesman Gary Desrosiers said the gang targeted the nuns because “for them, they only deal with their Bibles, their rosaries,” and won’t fight back.

“All sectors [of society] have condemned this,” Desrosiers said, “and we the police, didn’t remain passive.”

Desrosiers’ words should have brought a sense of comfort. But doubts and concerns linger, underscoring even the clergy’s lack of faith in Haiti’s police and justice systems.

“We are not satisfied. We expect more than one hundred people to be arrested,” said Monsignor Patrick Aris, chancellor of the Archdiocese of Port-au-Prince. “We are very far from dismantling these gangs. The police, the government have to do more.”

Aris said the attacks started in November but it wasn’t until January that they began noticing a pattern.

“They arrived with guns and broke into the houses of the sisters. They searched for money and electronics, and beat the nuns before leaving with all they could,” Aris said. “These nuns are vulnerable and they don’t have guns or protection. God is their only protection.”

“Every time they attacked us, we called the police. They never came on time,” Aris said. “They always had a reason — sometimes they didn’t have equipment, they don’t have a car.”

De la Croix and Sister Marie de l'Evangile were sleeping when the bandits arrived on foot at 12:30 a.m. on March 10. Hearing the noise, de la Croix called police. The inspector said he would send someone right away.

Moments later, the bandits were standing in de la Croix’s living room. After shooting Father Marie in his shoulders and hands and smashing him in the head with a rock, they broke through her front door.

“Give me money, money,” de la Croix said one of the men screamed. She handed him $100, but he wasn’t satisfied.

“Are you crazy? We want $15,000,” he screamed.

“I have nothing else,” de la Croix responded.

L’Evangile, who tried to help Marie, was also hit in the head with a rock. Soon, people from the community came, scaring the bandits away, said de la Croix, who is with the Fraternité Notre Dame order.

Afraid to drive down the mountain after the robbers fled with a cell phone, camera, laptop, $310 and their religious rings, de la Croix waited for police. They arrived three hours after her call.

“They said they got lost,” she said.

Marie was initially treated at a U.N. hospital and transported to the United States. Since the attack, neither women has slept in the community where they provide health services for 2,000 families.

“We don’t know what we are going to do,” de la Croix said. “It’s really painful. So many people rely on us, especially at night when the women are giving birth and we are not there to help.”

Like others, she questions the motives behind the attack. She recognized one of her attackers, she said, as the same man who had robbed her a year earlier in another area but doesn’t know if he’s among those arrested by police.

Desrosiers, at the press conference, showed several bullet casings and religious gold rings. De la Croix’s ring was silver, she said.

Jocelyne Colas, the executive director for the National Episcopal Justice and Peace Commission, said the weakness of Haiti’s police force makes it difficult to have confidence that they have caught the culprits.

Colas’ criticism about the police aren’t new. In a 2014 report, Human Rights Watch said despite the priority given to police reform, “the weak capacity of the Haitian National Police (HNP) contributes to overall insecurity in the country.”

“There is negligence by the authorities and a lack of political will to take responsibility to apply the law and prevent violence,” said Colas, who called for a disarmament campaign after the group’s latest crime report showed increasing violence.

“The attacks against the religious communities, for us, simply shows the lack of capacity of the authorities, the lack of investigation and prevention. Even when they succeed in arresting someone, there are no guarantees they will be judged,” Colas said.

Zamor echoes her sentiment.

“The justice system in Haiti is weak,” he said. “What is to say they won’t release [those arrested] and then they return to persecute the religious groups? They only got five of them; 10 are still at large. The danger is still there and at any moment they could return.”

Zamor said church officials asked police to increase patrols in areas where communities are most vulnerable. Police instead proposed that they hire private security, a proposition that neither the Church nor the poor communities they serve can afford.

“We want the police to assume its responsibilities,” he said. “It is frustrating when the person who is supposed to give you security isn’t there and then when he arrives, he never does so on time.”

Zamor said the Catholic church has no intention of pulling out missions, which are working in some of the remote reaches of the country operating schools, orphanages and health clinics. There is, however, serious consideration about cutting back those services to help protect the nuns.

Since November there have been at least 27 attacks against more than three dozen religious communities in Haiti. Here is a list of some of the incidents, according to the Archdiocese of Port-au-Prince:
 

Montfort Institute for Deaf Children of the Daughters of Wisdom, Croix-des-Bouquets
four (4) times in 2014.
The Little Sisters of St. Thérèse in Boucan-Carré Nov. 16, 2014.
Daughters of Mary Immaculate Queen in Saut-d'Eau, Dec. 3, 2014.
The Sisters of Charity of St. Louis in Petite Riviere de l'Artibonite, on Dec. 8, 2014.
Missionary Sisters of Christ-Roi in L’Estère, night of Dec. 11 to 12, 2014.
The Little Sisters of St. Thérèse Marfranc, Dec. 18, 2014.
Missionaries of the Immaculate Conception in Dubuisson, Dec. 27, 2014 ;
The Jesuit Fathers, Delmas, Jan. 18.
The Little Sisters of St. Thérèse, a Vieux-Bourg of Aquin Jan. 20.
The Daughters of Mary in Croix-des- Bouquets in the night of Jan. 16 to 17; 21 and 22.
The Little Sisters of the Incarnation in Pandassiou, Hinche, Jan. 19 to 20.
The Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi in Maniche, Jan. 30.
The Sisters of St. Joseph of Saint-Vallier in Saint-Raphaël, Jan. 26 and 29.
The Little Sisters of St. Thérèse in Mirebalais, Feb. 4
Franciscan Auxiliary in Latremblay, Croix-des-Bouquets, on Feb. 6;
The Sisters of Wisdom in Kenscoff, Feb. 9
The Servants of the Sick in Marin, Feb. 21.
Little Sisters of the Incarnation in Pandassiou, Hinche, Feb. 22.
The Sisters of the Holy Union in Saint Michel de l'Attalaye, Feb. 23.
The site of the Charismatic Renewal in Tabarre, the night of Feb. 27 to 28.
The Sisters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul in Sibert, March 4.
The Daughters of Mary in Verrettes, March 5.
Fraternite of Notre Dame in Aux Cadets, March 10
The Sisters of Saint Joseph of Cluny in Thomonde, March 13, 2015
The Sisters of Saint Thérèse of the Baby Jesus in Boucan-Carré. March 15
The Sisters of Saint Thérèse of the Baby Jesus in Thomazeau, March 17
Benedictine Monks and Christian Brothers attacked in the street.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/haiti/article16946363.html#storylink=cpy

Haiti - Reconstruction: Two Major Projets Funded By The EU Are Making Great Strides

Haiti - Reconstruction : Two major projects funded by the EU are making great strides
(Haiti Libre) - 28/03/2015 11:42:23

Two major projects funded by the European Union are making great strides. The first is the construction of the building to house the Office of the National Authorising Officer of the European Development Fund (BONFED) in Bourdon, fundedto the tune of 2.6 million euros (2,650.370.72). The signing of contracts for such work took place in 2013, that of outsourcing contracts, the realization of the preliminary tasks of sanitation and earthworks in September 2014.

Demoulding of reinforcement of the foundation took place on 23 March 2015. The projections for the next three months are as follows: concreting of the floor tiles of the two buildings and installation of steel structures of buildings transported by ship to Haiti. Completion is scheduled for July 2015.



The second project includes two construction sites of a respective total amount of €33.5 million and €30.1 million covering the construction works of Lascahobas-Belladère roads, until the border, and Mirebalais-Lascahobas.

These infrastructure built under the European Union's Programme to Support the National Transport Policy (APONTRA) by Dominican company Estrella, are gems for the region and extend to the horizon.

The technical adviser, Alain Pamphile, Coordinator of the project has participated in the 18th a monthly follow-up meeting in Lascahobas, March 26, 2015, attended by representatives of the Ministry of Public Works (TPTC) of the European Union and the Mission of control and Estrella company. It appears that the Lascahobas-Belladère stretch will be completed in mid-August 2015 and the Mirebalais-Lascahobas in October, 2015.

Haiti - Cholera: 20 Communes On Red Alert

Haiti - Cholera : 20 communes on Red Alert
(Haiti Libre) - 28/03/2015 10:14:01

Statistics released by the Ministry of Public Health and Population (MSPP) indicate an increase in the number of cases of cholera seen in the beginning of this year. Indeed, during the first 9 epidemiological weeks (From January 1 to February 28, 2015), 7.833 suspected cases (4,149 in January 2015 and 3,684 in February 2015 compared to 1629 in January 2014 and 1259 in February 2014) and 72 deaths were recorded .

Moreover MSPP indicates that a twenty communes are already on red alert where over 440 cases seen have already been recorded for the 10th epidemiological week (from 3 to 9 March 2015). The situation is much more critical in the communes of Port-au-Prince (65 cases), St Marc (60 cases), Cabaret (47 cases) and Tabarre (40 cases).

The Ministry of Health warns that with this rise of new cases, the support structures hospitalize nearly three times more cases than in 2004 (600 in 2015 against less than 200 in 2014).

This situation raises concerns on the side of the international community, which fears a significant resurgence of the disease during the next rainy season, which begins in May in a context of under-funding and reduced humanitarian activities on the ground.

In terms of responses, the agencies of the UN system through the Pan American Health Organization / World Health Organization (PAHO / WHO), UNICEF etc... and its partners have intensified the prevention and response activities to curb the epidemic. Awareness activities, decontamination of houses, distribution of chlorinated products and oral serum were held in affected communities.

However, control strategy against the epidemic in Haiti gives positive results. National and international collaborative efforts have resulted in a significant reduction in the number of people affected by cholera in the last three years. Each year, the number of cholera cases has been reduced by more than half and the fatality rate is below 1% the target rate set by the national plan for the elimination of cholera to 2015. As Haiti enters the rainy season, the prevention and rapid response efforts to alerts should be intensified.

Note that since 2010, more than 730,000 Haitians have been affected by cholera that caused more than 8,700 victims. During the same period, the Dominican Republic has reported more than 32,000 cases of cholera and 480 victims in total.

Haiti - Social: 72 New Housing Units Completed

Haiti - Social : 72 new housing units completed
(Haiti Libre) - 29/03/2015 09:42:56

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has completed the construction of 72 housing units in Delmas 18 a vulnerable neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, heavily affected by the 2010 earthquake.

Funds were provided by the Government of Haiti’s Bureau of Monetization of Development Aid Programs (BMPAD) as part of a USD 16 million project coordinated by the country’s Unit for Housing and Public Buildings Construction (UCLBP).

Through the same project, IOM also assisted the return of 9,000 displaced families and carried out extensive construction and rehabilitation work in several communities of return (i.e., Saint Martin, Carrefour Feuilles and Cité Soleil), including:

• The construction of 200 housing units;
  
• the rehabilitation of 367 latrines.
  
• The construction of 11 canals, 12 roads, 16 footpaths, a basketball court, a public square, and the installation of 85 solar lamp posts.

The newly completed community is comprised of 72 apartments or 36 double units connected to water and electricity, an open common space with benches and a play area, and rainwater collection and waste water management systems.

Based on the concept of incremental housing, this type of construction allows residents to expand their house by building an additional bedroom at a later stage. Each apartment has one bedroom (which could be used as a living room once the additional bedroom is built), a veranda, a kitchen and a bathroom.



"This project is the result of a close collaboration between the Government, through UCLBP, the international community, and the local community, who was actively engaged in the decision-making process and the project implementation. It is an example of how unity makes strength and allows to achieve remarkable results," said IOM Haiti Chief of Mission Gregoire Goodstein.

The construction provided jobs to nine construction firms and over 250 local laborers, mostly from the neighboring community of Delmas 18, an area prone to violence and with limited access to income-earning opportunities. The recipients of these housing units will be identified by the Public Enterprise for the Promotion of Social Housing (EPPLS).

Haiti - Health: Opening Of A Hospital For Treatment Of Tuberculosis

Haiti - Health : Opening of a Hospital for treatment of tuberculosis
(Haiti Libre) - 30/03/2015 07:32:10

In a major advance in the fight against drug-resistant tuberculosis, the Haitian Study Group on Opportunistic Infections and Kaposi's Sarcoma (GHESKIO), has opened a state-of-the-art hospital in Port-au-Prince, to treat patients suffering from the disease.

GHESKIO is a nongovernmental service, research and training center that operates in partnership with Weill Cornell Medical College and the Haitian Ministry of Health. It provides integrated primary care services, including HIV counseling, AIDS care, prenatal care and management of TB, cholera and other infectious diseases, as well as global health and educational services to more than 500,000 of the poorest Haitians. Since its inception in 1982, GHESKIO has become one of the largest AIDS and TB treatment centers in the Americas.

The global medical technology firm Becton-Dickinson (BD), which gave a $1 million gift to support the new hospital. The facility's pavilion was named in honor of Ed Ludwig, former CEO and chairman of BD's Board of Directors, and his wife Kathy, who together also made a generous personal donation. Other major contributors included United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Weill Cornell and GHESKIO.

The new, 35-room open-air hospital will provide patients with a comfortable place to stay while they receive treatment. Its design is reminiscent of a hotel, with a garden and open space, lots of sunlight and air flow.

As a state-of-the-art facility and site for clinical trials, physicians will be able to provide the most advanced clinical care to their patients, who will in turn receive the best new medicines to treat their disease.



"We do not have good drugs to treat this disease," said Dr. Jean W. Pape, a professor of medicine at Weill Cornell and founder and director of GHESKIO. "The drugs available to us have horrible side effects, and people get sicker from the drugs than the disease itself. By participating in clinical trials, we hope to improve the lives of our patients in Haiti and around the world."

While the most common form of the disease can be treated in six months, the multidrug-resistant form requires a significantly more intense treatment strategy that lasts 18 months to two years. Even in the best case scenario, mortality for the drug resistant form remains high with the available drugs.

A laboratory located just next door from the hospital is equipped with cutting-edge technology, enabling physician-scientists to conduct advanced research to discover the molecular underpinnings of TB resistance. Weill Cornell was recently awarded a seven-year grant by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes of Health to support this work.

The laboratory's proximity to the hospital ensures that breakthroughs made at the bench can be rapidly translated into new treatments and therapies for patients, and that observations made by clinicians can open new lines of scientific inquiry in the lab.

"We now have the last piece of the puzzle that makes us an unbeatable clinical research team," Dr. Pape said. "We can now treat patients in a dignified way, and we have all of the tools to conduct good clinical research. Our patients will give us the opportunity to answer important research questions that have remained unanswered up until now."

"It's really an amazing opportunity, not just for Haiti, GHESKIO and Weill Cornell, but also for the world as we embark on this new research endeavor."

The new facility was a combined effort of engineering firms from the United States and Haiti. It was conceived and supervised by MASS Design Group, headquartered in Boston, built by Chantiers d'Haiti and supervised by GBS, another Haitian firm. It is the product of an international collaboration between key stakeholders, including Weill Cornell, GHESKIO, the Haitian and United States governments, the CDC, USAID and the Global Fund, which works with local governments, civil society and the private sector to help end of AIDS, TB and malaria epidemics.

"If each of your organizations had decided to build a hospital, yes, you probably could have," said U.S. Ambassador to Haiti Pamela A. White at the inauguration. "But the hospitals you built alone would not be nearly so impressive, so ambitious or so inventive. Because you worked together, you have created something that will last for decades and serve as an example to people around the world of what dynamic partnerships can produce."

"When it comes to doing good," added Sophia Martelly, first lady of the Republic of Haiti, "limits do not exist. When it comes to improving the human condition, the boundaries are only words. When one is guided by this humanistic vision and solidarity and when one is alive with perseverance, nothing is impossible."

Haiti - Agriculture: Purchase Of More Than 12,000 Tons Of Local Products

Haiti - Agriculture : Purchase of more than 12,000 tons of local products
(Haiti Libre) - 30/03/2015 08:37:41

More than 12,000 tons of local products were purchased from 7,500 small Haitian producers to enhance food security in the event of an emergency.

France is the first partner of the Haitian Government to allocate all of its food aid credits to a local productions purchasing program since 2005. The objective of this program is to encourage local production, guarantee income for farmers and structure the Haitian producer organizations. The aim is also to support small producers through a strengthening of internal governance program of four producer organizations.

Since 2005, 14.5 million have been granted to local productions purchases program in Haiti. These credits were used to buy from thousands of small Haitian producers 12,040 tons of local produce : 11,985 tons of grain (rice and ground corn) and 55 tonnes of pulses (beans and pigeon peas), 98% have been distributed to the World Food Programme (WFP) for its various programs including the School Feeding Program.

Approximately 2% (€ 0.3 million) of these funds were mobilized for investments and training in organizational management and accounting.

Meanwhile, an expertise of the Regional Agri-Food Cluster of Martinique (PARM) since 2011 has largely contributed to the diversification and improvement of the nutritional quality of local products not compete by US imports.

Furthermore, a concertation around the theme "local purchases and food security" with technical and financial partners working in this field (Brazilian Cooperation, IDB, EU, AFD, CANADA...) is underway to achieve a coordinated and coherent action of international donors .

Haiti - Cholera: PAHO/WHO Want New Supports

Haiti - Cholera : PAHO/WHO want new supports
29/03/2015 12:01:02

The Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) and partners in the Regional Coalition to Eliminate Cholera in Hispaniola welcome new support to improve water and sanitation in Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

"Universal access to water and sanitation is a pillar of public health and is critical to defeating cholera and water-borne diseases," said Isabella Danel, Deputy Director of PAHO/WHO, which serves as secretariat for the Regional Coalition. "We believe access to water and sanitation is a basic human right, and we invite other organizations who agree to join and help Haiti and the Dominican Republic make that right a reality for their inhabitants."

Recall that since the beginning of the cholera epidemic in Haiti in 2010, more than 730,000 Haitians were contaminated by the disease and more than 8,700 have died. In the first two months of 2015, Haiti reported an average of more than 1,000 new cases each week (as of Feb. 21) http://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-13483-haiti-cholera-20-communes-on-red-alert.html . The Dominican Republic has reported more than 32,000 total cholera cases and 480 deaths since 2010.

With support from the Regional Coalition, the governments of Haiti and the Dominican Republic developed national plans to eliminate cholera through major improvements in safe water, sanitation, and hygiene and health system strengthening. Since 2012, coalition members and other international partners have helped Haiti make progress including :

• The construction and rehabilitation of drilled boreholes, shallow wells, spring and rainwater harvesting structures, and other water supply options
  
• The launch in 2014 of a "Total Sanitation Campaign" aimed at improving water and sanitation in priority communes
  
• Creation of a new performance monitoring system to track water quality and use, as well as finances in water and sanitation systems and facilities throughout the country
  
• Capacity building for water supply and sanitation committees, communal administrative councils, and communal water and sanitation technicians to improve service delivery and governance in the water sector

The Haitian government and its international partners acknowledge, however, that much more action and investments are needed to fully implement the national cholera elimination plan. That plan calls for an initial $310 million over three years ($2.2 billion over 10 years—to fund investments in water and sanitation infrastructure, improvements http://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-7388-haiti-health-ban-ki-moon-tuesday-launched-an-appeal-for-$22-billion.html ) in water safety surveillance and resource management, health education on hygiene for the population, and institutional capacity building at all levels.

"Haiti and its partners have made meaningful progress in water and sanitation, but defeating cholera will require a significant scale-up of these efforts," said Isabella Danel. "The work done so far by our Regional Coalition partners needs to become universal, and this will require new resources.

Learn more about the Regional Coalition :
The Regional Coalition for Water and Sanitation to Eliminate Cholera in Hispaniola provides technical expertise on cholera control and elimination to the governments of Haiti and the Dominican Republic and is working to mobilize resources for their national action plans to eliminate the disease by 2022. The coalition's 23 members include PAHO/WHO, UNICEF, CDC, the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), USAID, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), World Vision and the Millennium Water Alliance (MWA). PAHO/WHO serves as the coalition's secretariat.

Haiti - Security: Elections, Environment And Seismic Hazard

Haiti - Security : Elections, Environment and Seismic Hazard
(Haiti Libre) - 29/03/2015 11:11:53

Friday at the Primature, at the weekly press conference, Rothchild François Jr., spokesman of the Government talked about security during the upcoming elections, Jean Marie Claude Germain, Minister of the Environment, of the rainy season and preventive measures and geologist Claude Prepetit seismic hazard in Haiti.

Rothchild François Jr. reiterated the commitment of the Government to ensure security in the country at the forthcoming elections. He said that the National Police of Haiti (PNH) had received formal instructions to that effect, adding that the government also relying on the support of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH).

In this regard recall the statements delivered that same day by Sandra Honoré, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations at a press conference "The Mission plays a supporting role in the efforts of the PNH. The modus operandi of MINUSTAH and its police component (UNPOL) in relation to security, is that in first line of response there is the National Police of Haiti. In the second line of response, if needed and requested, there is a support from the United Nations police and in third line of response when the efforts of the PNH and UNPOL fail to dominate whatever situation, it is there that the military component of the UN and the military component of MINUSTAH intervenes"

Furthermore, the Government Spokesman expressed the solidarity of the whole Government towards religious congregations victims of armed bandit attacks and rejoiced of the PNH work, which begins to apprehend some of these individuals http://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-13472-haiti-justice-fruitful-dragnet-in-the-case-of-attacks-against-religious.html

Jean Claude Germain, Minister of Environment, to less than two months of the rainy season start announced clearing works in several areas of the country. "A high labor intensity program is running in the area of Lake Azuei and the Chain Troud'Eau," stressing that this is a multi-sectoral work involving besides his Ministry, the Ministry of Public Works and the Ministry of the Interior and Local Authorities. He took the opportunity to denounce once again, uncontrolled construction around the city of Port-au-Prince who are risk areas for the population.

The engineer geologist Claude Prepetit, explained that Haiti was facing a high seismicity, recalling that some faults are not yet located. The Haitian specialist revealed that thanks to the national monitoring network, more than twenty earthquakes of low magnitude, were recorded in various parts of the country during the month of March.

The geologist, who recalled the impossibility at present to predict an earthquake, announced the publication of a quarterly newsletter to inform the public about the tremors recorded in Haiti. Moreover, it also announced that a brochure presenting the micro-zoning of the country, will be distributed during the month of April

Haiti - Dominican Republic: United In The Fight Against The Mediterranean Fruit Fly

Haiti - Dominican Republic : United in the fight against the Mediterranean fruit fly
(Haiti Libre) - 29/03/2015 13:34:45

Friday, as part of the High Level Joint Bilateral Commission http://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-13488-haiti-politic-a-joint-bilateral-meeting-successful-and-promising.html , Fresner Dorcin, the Minister of Agriculture and his Dominican counterpart Angel Estevez have agreed to fight together against the Mediterranean fruit fly [Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann)], which has affected the Dominican exports of fruits and vegetables. The Minister Brutus stated that the agriculture ministers of the two countries were working together to achieve in the coming days "positive results" on this subject.

Recall that on March 10, the presence of the "Mediterranean Fly" was found in an agricultural area (mainly devoted to the cultivation of sugar cane and pasture for livestock), close to the Punta Cana airport Dominican Republic. On 18 March, the United States limited the entry of fruits and vegetables from the Dominican Republic to prevent the spread of the parasitic fly. March 20, Haiti declared the temporary ban on fruit and vegetables from the neighboring Republic http://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-13429-haiti-flash-ban-on-imports-of-fruit-and-vegetables-dominicans.html

To address this situation, the Ministers of Agriculture Haitian and Dominican, formed a technical committee to monitor the work and progress.

The Minister Estevez indicated that the protocol of the experts from the US Department of Agriculture was applied to the letter, the staff, equipment was doubled as well as the traps that have been recommended to eradicate the fly was made available on the ground. He also announced that a 22-km cordon was set up around the area. A brigade of more than 100 people, including technicians (Dominican and American) working in the infected area.

The Minister Fresner Dorcin, visited the day before the area with the technicians of his ministry, recognized the need to work together to deal with this kind of scourge that "has no boundaries, no nationality, no color, no country," and confirmed the making available to the Dominican Republic, of the experience of technicians of his Ministry, in this type of sanitary controls.

The Club Of Madrid Argues In Favor Of Maintaining Of The MINUSTAH

Haiti - Security : The Club of Madrid argues in favor of maintaining of the Minustah
(Haiti Libre) - 28/03/2015 10:32:05

Jorge Quiroga, Club de Madrid Vice-president and former President of Bolivia (2001-2002) lead a two day mission (11-12 March) to New York City in the framework of the EU-funded project "Promoting Dialogue for Democratic Reform in Haiti". The aim was advocating for a maintained force level of the MINUSTAH in Haiti until after the 2015 elections.

With this purpose President Quiroga held meetings with United Nations representatives as well as with Members of the UN Security Council and of the Group of Friends of Haiti. Those encounters took place ahead of the Security Council discussion on the UN Secretary General report on Haiti on March 18th.

Club de Madrid endeavour has been reinforced with a letter sent on the 16th of March by its President and Vice Presidents, Vaira Vike-Freiberga (former President of Latvia), Jennifer Mary Shipley (former Prime Minister of New Zealand) and Jorge Quiroga to UN Peacekeeping Operations officials and Security Council representatives.

The letter also calls the Security Council to reconsider the downsizing by half of MINUSTAH’s military component. The message stresses the need "to consolidate institutional democracy as a precondition to country ownership and that ensuring the proper development of forthcoming elections is essential to this process » and also asks the international community to keep providing « the greatest possible security and logistics level to the upcoming Haitian elections and therefore postponing MINUSTAH downsizing until after the elections, so as to create an enabling environment for the most complex elections in Haiti’s recent history".

Although « there is a pressing need for the country to reduce its dependence on foreign support », Club de Madrid thinks that the downsizing might "increase electoral irregularities in Haiti due to security deficits, thus casting doubt on electoral results, a traditional cause of instability in Haiti". The letter also reminds that the planned downsizing accounts for only 1% of the total peacekeeping budget and 2,500 troops (2% of 120,000 peacekeeping troops).

Learn more about the Club of Madrid :
The Club de Madrid is an independent non-profit organization composed of more than 90 former presidents and prime ministers from 60 democratic countries. The Club de Madrid responds to a growing demand for support from leaders to address a number of challenges in democratic governance by providing experience and expertise valuable leadership of its members.

The Human Rights Council Adopted A Text On Haiti

Haiti - Politic : The Human Rights Council adopted a text on Haiti
(Haiti Libre) - 30/03/2015 07:57:46

Friday afternoon in Geneva, the Human Rights Council (HRC) has completed its work and adopted a text on Haiti. Through a statement by President, the HRC has also adopted without a vote, the request of the Haitian authorities to renew for one year the mandate of Gustavo Gallón, the independent expert on the situation of human rights in Haiti, which is part of the technical assistance and capacity building. The Council invites the independent expert to assist the Government of Haiti in the implementation of its recommendations and those issued by other special procedures and to present its report on the situation of human rights in Haiti at the March 2016 session of the Human Rights Council.

The Council notes the latest legal and policy developments in Haiti marked especially by progress on civil and political rights, economic, social and cultural. It welcomes the installation, January 23, 2015, of a new Provisional Electoral Council, as well as the publication of the electoral decree and the timetable for elections by the Provisional Electoral Council.

The Council encourages the Government of Haiti to continue to strengthen the rule of law, notably through the fight against impunity, corruption, crime and its causes and to continue to build the capacity of the national police and the judicial system, in order to ensure the functioning of institutions and public services and enjoyment of all human rights.

The Council particularly welcomes the launch in March 2015, of the operation "Punch" http://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-13297-haiti-justice-operation-punch.html , which aims to provide urgent and structured response to the phenomenon of prolonged pretrial detention.

The Council encourages the international community in general, particularly international donors, the Latin American and Caribbean States, the countries of the Group of Friends of Haiti and the specialized agencies of the United Nations, particularly the High Commissioner for Human Rights, to strengthen their cooperation and coordination with the Haitian authorities.

Following the adoption of the statement by President on the situation of human rights in Haiti, Haiti welcomed the consensus on the text and assured that his government had undertaken commitments in favor of the forthcoming holding of elections, healthy and democratic. He welcomed the involvement of bilateral and international partners

Haiti - Agriculture: Fishing In Haiti, Review And Prospects

Haiti - Agriculture : Fishing in Haiti, review and prospects
(Haiti Libre) - 27/03/2015 06:43:53

The marine fishery in Haiti, supports directly over 54,000 families in nearly 400 villages of fishermen on over 1,500 km of coastline and 12,000 merchants and indirectly 7,000 "madan sara" who work in this sector.

Fishing in Haiti, allows to have about 15,000 tons of products per year, less than 50% of local demand forcing to import more than 16,000 tons of fish per year, although consumption "per capita" in Haiti is only 4 8 kg / year (the lowest in the Caribbean). Meanwhile, Haiti manages to export annually on the international market nearly 800 tons of its fishing products (mainly lobsters, octopuses and Queen Conch meat) worth 10 million whose 4 million are distributed among 5,000 families of fishermen.

The government has chosen to work for social and economic development of rural fishing communities through the practice of an improved sustainable artisanal fisheries by the installation of Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs) in the territorial waters of the country. These devices allow fishermen to fetch fish much further into the sea which reduces the pressure on the coasts which endangers currently many species. Today the fishermen of country take advantage of about 50 DCP installed that must be maintained or replaced periodically.

Actions performed (partial) :
The government has supported the installation of forty new Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs) in the territorial waters of the country and fifty boats and motors ;

• Five fisheries centers were built in the Southeast department in Grand Gosier, Belle Anse, Marigot, Cayes Jacmel and Bainet. They are self-sufficient in energy and can improve the conservation, processing and marketing of fisheries products. These facilities and infrastructure that allow to significantly reduce the loss of shellfish after harvest (estimated at around 40%) are managed by of communal unions composed of associations of fishermen and merchants of the town, reinforced by of simplified management training programs adapted to the capacity of leaders of these Unions. Each center has a shop for fishing inputs to facilitate the supply of fishermen in fishing equipment ;
  
• More than 4 docks were built to facilitate better landing of fishery products ;
  
• Acquisition and distribution of fishing kits to over 160 fishing associations across the 9 departments of the country.

Today with the support of several partners, the fishermen of 120 villages have already benefited approximately of sixty DCP installed and running with specific fishing gear for fishing on FADs and an adequate storage system.

Objectives and expected results for the period (2012-2017) :

• Consolidate the gains in the fisheries sector by strengthening the conditions for a modern modern artisanal fisheries, capable of generating sustainable income ;
  
• Triple the number of FADs installed as well as the equipment necessary for their operation (150 by 2017);
  
• Improve conservation systems, processing and marketing of products by installing community centers for fishery products processing ;
  
• Boost sustainable strategic alliances between the private sector and fishermen's organizations ;
  
• Support the construction and development of 90 small landing ports, installation of ice-making machines, increasing the current number of installed solar freezers and the operationalization of cold rooms.

 These interventions will help to increase the annual production of 15,000 tons / year to 20,000 / 30,000 ton / year. The annual income generated by this sector will increase from $130 million to $260 million.

Note that the Sustainable Coastal Development Program (HA-L1095) at the South Department, Southeast and Nippes, financed by the IDB will prioritize the following activities :

• Establishment of a database (Register of fishermen and boats) ;
  
• Updating the legal framework ;
  
• Reconstitution of mangrove forests ;
  
• Inventory of the principal resources of economic importance ;
  
• Creation of a Health Inspection Service and certifications ;
  
• Alliance with crushed ice plants in the fishing areas and the installation of appropriate infrastructure for the storage of ice ;
  
• Development of storage facilities, processing and marketing of seafood ;
  
• Installation of Community fishing shops.

Haiti - Health: Visit Of The Construction Site Of The Hospital Simbi Continental

Haiti - Health : Visit of the construction site of the Hospital Simbi Continental
(Haiti Libre) - 27/03/2015 12:39:21

Thursday, Florence Duperval Guillaume, Minister of Health, accompanied by Rothchild François Jr., Minister of Communication visited the construction works of the Hospital Simbi Continental in Martissant 23.

With a surface area of 5,000 m2, the Hospital with a capacity of about 70 beds including a quarantine for hospital stay, with all the related services, offer medical care of high quality. Built by the firm IBT HAITI SA, in compliance with international standards, the health infrastructure costing over US $ 6.4 million (funded by Petrocaribe Fund), should be completed in August 2015.

Hospital Simbi Continental will receive 400 to 500 patients per day and serve among others, the communities of Martissant Fontamara, Downtown, Carrefour.

This new hospital "is part of a strategy to create a health microsystem in the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince to better serve the population," indicated the Minister Duperval adding that her Ministry seeks to establish a partnership between the hospital and Doctors Without Borders, in order to benefit from its organizational system of services and enhance its effectiveness.

Haiti - Security: A Student Shot And Wounded At Lycee Guy Malary

Haiti - Security : A student shot and wounded at Lycée Guy Malary
(Haiti Libre) - 26/03/2015 10:21:17

The Ministry of National Education and Professional Training (MENFP) is deeply dismayed, following a new act of aggression, which occurred Saturday, March 21 against a student of second class at the Lycée Guy Malary, shot and wounded in the leg, on the sidelines of a remedial course session. The student is out of danger after having received the care required by his condition confirmed the ministry.

MENFP strongly condemns this umpteenth act of violence in classroom by armed individuals being unduly in the school space and informs that the judicial authorities have been instructed on the attack, so that the culprits be found and punished.

Furthermore, the Ministry took the opportunity to ask the school directors and teachers to fully assume their supervisory role with students throughout the learning teaching process, including the monitoring of students, during evaluations. Recalling that it is forbidden to recruit non-teaching staff during exams provided in educational establishments.

MENFP called once again to the vigilant citizen action of all, in order to anticipate the violence that tends to be trivialized.

Recall that on Tuesday 3 and Thursday, March 5, 2015, two students of Lycée Fritz Pierre-Louis had been wounded with edged weapons by other young people http://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-13326-haiti-security-school-violence-2-students-stabbed.html

Haiti - Security: 814 Police Officers Revoked In 2014

Haiti - Security : 814 police officers revoked in 2014
(Haiti Libre) - 22/03/2015 10:23:01

In a report published this week, the General Inspectorate of the National Police of Haiti (IGPNH), presents its review for 2014, whose we ave summarized the highlights.

One learn that "[...] 814 police officers were dismissed from the PNH in 2014, including 717 for dereliction of duty and 97 for various reasons." The dismissal for abandonment of post, had never been applied in previous years, which explains the high number in 2014, where IGPNH decided to apply the regulation with full force "Of the 97 dismissal for various reasons, 23 were dismissed for embezzlement, 8 for rug trafficking, 7 theft, 9 for abductions, 10 for homicides, 6 for corruption and 4 for murder. ...]"

Moreover, "949 complaints against police officers have been filed by citizens for different types of violation embezzlement, abuse of authority, physical assault, assault and battery, debts, violence, denial of care, threats and confiscation of goods."

In addition, the report states that a "[...] total of 1,254 cases were opened by the various divisions of investigation for the year 2014" (being finalized) "7.047 investigation acts were they achieved, distributed, among others, in 1,886 summonses, 1,734 hearings, 1,827 retention of checks and 494 invitations. 820 records have also been finalized during the year by the investigations division. These files processed are distributed to the following types of violations: 109 for debt, 112 for assault and battery, 177 for weapon losses, 18 for mistreatment, 21 for escapes, 26 for gunshot wounds, 17 for assaults, 48 for violence and 15 for unjustified shootings [...]".

Finally, the report points out that between 1995 and 2014, 806 police officers were killed "[...] 63 have been murdered, 252 died of disease, 233 have been shot dead, 43 victims of traffic accidents and 70 victims of the earthquake in January 1010."

7 Gunmen Attacked A Freight Truck

Haiti - FLASH : 7 gunmen attacked a freight truck
(Haiti Libre) - 26/03/2015 10:51:43

On the night of Wednesday 25 to Thursday 26 March, a group of seven heavily gunmen intercepted a truck full of goods coming from Port-au-Prince that was heading towards the town of Les Cayes, on the National Road #2 at the locality of Barettes (Petit-Goâve).

After having severely beat the driver, the bandits fled with the truck towards the localy of Fort Royal of Petit-Goâve where they unloaded the goods.

Thanks to the collaboration of Fort Royal residents, the police has arrested two bandits.

We have just learned that some of the stolen goods was recovered by the judicial authorities on the side of Fort Royal.

Petit-Goâve citizens have condemned the action of bandits.

HL/ HaitiLibre / Guyto Mathieu (Correspondant Petit-Goâve) 

Haiti - Politic: Cuba Pleads For Haiti In Geneva

Haiti - Politic : Cuba pleads for Haiti in Geneva
(Haiti Libre) - 26/03/2015 11:21:17

As part of the 28th Session of the Council of Human Rights held in Geneva until 27 March 2015, the Cuban delegate Claudia Pérez, in a note published earlier this week, by the Permanent Mission of the Great West Indies in Geneva declared that "Cuba considers that the reconstruction and development of Haiti remains a debt to the people who, after centuries of colonialism, made the first social revolution in the Americas [...]"

Stressing "It is vital to meet the needs and priorities of the Haitian people and their government [...] We reiterate our call on the developed countries to honor their commitments and to provide support and assistance that this nation needs urgently. We invite creditors to write off their debts."

According to the delegate of Cuba "we all have a moral obligation to provide additional financial resources and greater cooperation to Haiti, not only for reconstruction, but especially for its development [...] Cuba reaffirms its commitment to the people of this country, consequently, it maintains its collaboration to improve the enjoyment of economic, social and important cultural rights."

Claudia Pérez reminded that there is a Cuba-Haiti cooperation in the field of education and health and in development programs in collaboration with other countries "in full respect for the sovereignty and self-determination of this brother country," stressing that "in this way, you can really empower people and always improve a little more the enjoyment of their rights [...]"

Haiti Is Back On The Map Of Banana Exporting Countries

Haiti is back on the map of banana exporting countries

Posted by Le Nouvelliste on Monday, March 2, 2015 Under: Agriculture

In the coming months, the first containers filled with bananas from the Agritrans project will depart for Europe. A first since 1955. Year in which Haiti has exported this commodity for the last time. With this project, the country is not only back on the global map of banana exporting countries but also hopes to find its place in a market dominated by giant India the world's largest producer of bananas ahead of China and the Philippines.

The Agritrans project, first agricultural free trade zone of the country is 2 million seedlings that will soon be planted on a thousand hectares with an annual output of 60 000 tonnes. According to the law on free zones, 70% of this production will be exported as against 30% for the local market.

With 17 million tonnes of bananas in circulation - for a total production of 130 million tonnes, mostly consumed locally - the international banana trade shows in 2014, according to FAO data, about $ 7 billion per year.

For Jovenel Moses, responsible for the Agritrans project, the banana is a mine, a source that never runs dry. It is harvested throughout the year. Now this commodity, very popular around the world, is not leaving the country for 60 years. Meanwhile, other countries in the region have engaged in this culture and handsomely profit from the mass of their currency it reports annually.

This is the case, among others, the Dominican Republic, where, according to data from the central bank of the country, banana exports reached between 2011 and 2013, 69% of total exports of fruits. Making it one of the largest exporters of organic bananas in the region.

Jamaica also, according to the Caribbean Journal, has high hopes for the banana industry. Indeed, the Minister of Agriculture, Derrick Kellier, announced to the press that his country will embark on banana production, with an initial target of 381 hectares of land.

Never mind! Jovenel Moses feels quite equipped to deal with regional competition. "The project is carried by Agritrans' 1,000 hectares, the Northeast has an area of ​​65 000 hectares [...] In terms of arable land, we have nothing to envy to other producers in the Caribbean level," said he who admits he intends to go tickle the Dominican Republic which we import almost all of the bananas we eat.

But Agritrans has another advantage. In the Caribbean, Haiti has an export quota for sale in Europe for different productions, alcohol or banana, etc. that the country has never used due to lack of production. "This project gives us the opportunity to start using the banana export quota," says Marie Carmelle Jean Marie, who, as a former Minister of Economy and Finance, has played an important role in the culmination of this project.

Unless major disasters, raw banana exports towards the old continent should take place in June of that year. Or rather pear-banana, to be precise. For among the three most popular types of bananas in Haiti, namely "bannann poban", "bannann Miske" or plantain - notably used by the merchant  that fries them - and dessert banana, pear banana commonly known, only the latter is exportable.

Cholera will plague Haiti until water, sanitation crisis solved: experts

BY ANASTASIA MOLONEY

Wed Mar 25, 2015 11:51pm EDT

BOGOTA (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Cholera will continue to kill and infect Haitians as long as they lack access to clean water and sanitation, with a thousand new cases reported each week, health experts say.

Cholera, a water-borne disease caught by drinking and using contaminated water, has killed nearly 9,000 Haitians and infected 732,000 since it broke out in the country in late 2010.

With the lowest levels of access to drinking water and sanitation in the Americas, Haiti is struggling to stamp out cholera, which resurged between October and December last year, said the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).

During the first two months of this year, cholera cases totaled 7,225, including 86 deaths - higher than recorded during the same period in 2012 and 2014, said PAHO, the regional arm of the World Health Organization.

"We cannot be complacent. We can't take our eyes off the ball," PAHO deputy director Isabella Danel told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in a telephone interview.

"Cholera comes and goes... This will not go away until the real problem of water and sanitation is solved. That will require a scale-up of financing and capacity."

Infectious diseases such as cholera thrive in the overcrowded slums sprawled across the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince. With few toilets there, people are forced to defecate in the open. Cases normally spike during Haiti's rainy season, from September to November.

More prosperous Dominican Republic, which shares the Caribbean island of Hispaniola with Haiti but has a stronger health system, has reported more than 32,000 cholera cases and 480 deaths since 2010, PAHO said.

Cholera causes diarrhea and vomiting that often brings on severe dehydration, which if not treated quickly can be fatal.

Many Haitians blame cholera on U.N. peacekeeping troops from Nepal, who they say introduced the disease to Haiti.

Forty percent of Haiti's population of 10 million do not have access to clean water, while nearly half of the country's hospitals lack either drinking water or sanitation, PAHO says.

Furthermore, 60 percent of Haiti's schools lack toilets, according to Human Rights Watch.

PAHO, the Haitian government and aid agencies have conducted awareness campaigns on the need to wash hands with clean water to stem cholera infection, and water purification programs using chlorine have been set up.

Since 2012, nearly 200,000 Haitians have received an oral vaccine to better protect them against cholera.

While such measures have significantly reduced cholera deaths, the U.N. says 28,000 more Haitians could be infected this year.

The government is unable to cope with peaks in cholera as the country's health sector is still recovering from the massive 2010 earthquake, says medical charity Doctors Without Borders.

In a bid to rid Haiti of cholera, the government launched a 10-year $2.2 billion appeal in 2013 to provide clean water and sanitation for all Haitians by 2022.

But many donors are focused elsewhere, Danel said.

"It has been a challenge to mobilize the necessary resources owing to the multiple global crises, wars, and conflicts, and more recently the heightened focus on Ebola control and elimination," she said.

(Reporting By Anastasia Moloney, editing by Alisa Tang)