Haiti's cholera epidemic, the hemisphere's worst in decades, neglected by international community

Sep 12 2011

"Cholera in Haiti is the worst epidemic that this hemisphere has seen in decades, yet it has received relatively little attention," Mark Weisbrot, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research and president of Just Foreign Policy writes in this Al Jazeera opinion piece, adding, "The international community has failed Haiti in so many ways and for so many years that it is almost unimaginable."

"Perhaps if it were seen as the emergency, scandal, and outrage that it really is, international donors would be more willing to make the necessary investments in prevention and treatment," which is "ultimately the most effective way to reduce the toll of the disease and to eventually eliminate it," he writes. "But since the earthquake we have a situation in which U.S. residents have given $1.4 billion to private charities to help Haiti, and the U.S. government has appropriated $1.14 billion," he notes (9/8).