Clean water, fuel needed to fight cholera in Haiti: UN chief

UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- Clean water and fuel are in demand to fight the cholera outbreak in Haiti as humanitarian agencies scale up support, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Monday.

"We live in an absolutely dramatic situation," Guterres told reporters. "We have the (Port-au-Prince) harbor blocked by gangs, not allowing fuel and other needed materials to move. We have, because of that, no fuel in the city. Where there is no fuel, there is no water."

The most important treatment for cholera is hydration, but there is no water available in Port-au-Prince, the Haitian capital, he said. "So it's an absolutely nightmarish situation for the population of Haiti, especially Port-au-Prince."

The UN chief reiterated his call for an international armed force to work with Haitian police to release the harbor and establish a humanitarian corridor "based on strict humanitarian criteria, independent of the political dimensions of the problems that need to be solved by the Haitians themselves." He underscored he was not recommending a UN peacekeeping force.

Stephane Dujarric, the chief spokesman for Guterres, said humanitarian agencies have been visiting cholera treatment centers managed by nongovernmental organizations in order to scale up aid.

As of Saturday, the authorities had confirmed 78 cases of cholera, with 835 suspected cases, including 271 in the Port-au-Prince national prison alone. There were 36 deaths from cholera, including 14 in the Port-au-Prince prison, said the spokesman.

He said some hospitals have reported they cannot perform required surgeries due to the lack of fuel.

The Pan American Health Organization has launched an emergency appeal for nearly 13 million U.S. dollars to respond to the cholera outbreak.