UNITED
NATIONS, July
7 -- When UN
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon belatedly
responded
on Friday
to the May
30 letter from
19 members of
the US
Congress
urging him to
take
responsibility
for the UN
introducing
cholera into
Haiti, he
reiterated his
finding that
legal claims
for
those killed
were “not
receivable.”
Based
on the timing
and lassitude,
only Inner
City Press
which asked
about
the
Congressional
letter back on
June 3, then
on July 2 and
July 5
and one other
media went and
got the letter
and reported
on it, at
least in
English.
The
UN's goal? To
dump and bury
the news or
make
heroes out of
itself and
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon, said
to “Vow
to Fight
Cholera” and
“Assure Help
to Haiti.”
Inner
City Press
minutes after
the letter was
put on a
counter in
Ban's
spokesperson's
office scanned
it and put it
online here,
and wrote
about
its
implications
again on
Saturday, here.
In
the letter,
Ban also
claimed that
of a study he
committed, the
majority of
the
recommendations
have been
implemented.
This is not
the case. From
the report
card:
RECOMMENDATION
1
The
Haiti cholera
outbreak
highlights the
risk of
transmitting
cholera
during
mobilization
of population
for emergency
response. To
prevent
introduction
of cholera
into
non-endemic
countries,
United Nations
personnel and
emergency
responders
traveling from
cholera
endemic
areas should
either receive
a prophylactic
dose of
appropriate
antibiotics
before
departure or
be screened
with a
sensitive
method
to confirm
absence of
asymptomatic
carriage of
Vibrio
cholerae, or
both.
NOT
IMPLEMENTED.
UN guidelines
[PDF] for
medical
screening of
potential
peacekeepers
recommend to
test stool
samples only
if the
applicant
exhibits
symptoms
(diarrhea).
That the
majority of
cholera
carriers
are
asymptomatic
has been
documented in
the medical
literature for
decades. The
cost of
medical
screening is
borne by the
troop-contributing
nation. Thus,
the cost to
the UN for
implementing
this
recommendation
is virtually
zero.
RECOMMENDATION
2
United
Nations
missions
commonly
operate in
emergencies
with
concurrent
cholera
epidemics. All
United Nations
personnel and
emergency
responders
traveling to
emergencies
should receive
prophylactic
antibiotics,
be immunized
against
cholera with
currently
available
oral vaccines,
or both, in
order to
protect their
own health and
to
protect the
health of
others.
NOT
IMPLEMENTED.
UN guidelines
currently
recommend
prophylaxis
and
vaccination
for several
diseases.
Cholera is not
one of them.
The UN
would not bear
any cost of
implementing
this
recommendation.
Doxycycline,
an antibiotic
used for
malaria
prophylaxis in
areas
where malaria
causing
Plasmodium
species are
chloroquine-resistant,
can also be
used as
cholera
prophylaxis.
Eighty seven
percent of
peacekeepers
are deployed
to areas with
malaria. Thus,
for many troop
contributing
nations, the
additional
cost of
cholera
prophylaxis
would be
minimal
RECOMMENDATION
3
To
prevent
introduction
of
contamination
into the local
environment,
United Nations
installations
worldwide
should treat
fecal waste
using
on-site
systems that
inactivate
pathogens
before
disposal.
These
systems should
be operated
and maintained
by trained,
qualified
United Nations
staff or by
local
providers with
adequate
United
Nations
oversight.
NOT
IMPLEMENTED.
Most MINUSTAH
black water
containers
hold 2,500L
(660gal) of
waste.
Approximately
550mL (19oz)
of household
bleach
(5.25% sodium
hypochlorite)
in a tank
would raise
the chlorine
level
to 12mg/L,
enough to
neutralize
pathogens.
Most bases
have multiple
tanks which
are emptied
weekly. For
example, the
Meye camp has
6
2,500L
containers
[PDF]. For the
780,000L
(206,050gal)
of black water
produced
yearly at the
Meye camp, it
would require
only 156L
(41gal)
per year to
implement this
recommendation.
Bleach costs
pennies per
liter. Storing
and handling
household
bleach does
not require
additional
training or
infrastructure.
Given that the
2012-2013
peacekeeping
budget is US$
7.33bn,
implementing
this
recommendation
would incur a
relatively
small cost to
the UN.
Implementing
this
recommendation
would not only
prevent
another
introduction
of cholera
but all other
diseases
present in the
waste.
There:
the first
three of seven
recommendations
have not been
implemented;
of the others,
some are
partial or
have nothing
to do with the
UN. The review
or report card
of Ban Ki-moon
is as
it was in
Iceland.
Watch this
site.
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