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Haiti + 2 more

Latin America & The Caribbean Weekly Situation Update (12 -18 December 2022) as of 19 December 2022

Attachments

HAITI: CHOLERA

KEY FIGURES

14.7K SUSPECTED CHOLERA CASES AS OF 11 DECEMBER 2022

Haiti is reporting more than 14,700 suspected cases in all 10 departments and more than 290 deaths as of 11 December 2022. The Ouest Department accounts for 86 per cent of all suspected cases, with the communes of Portau-Prince, Cité-Soleil and Carrefour collectively accounting for 70 per cent of all of Ouest’s suspected cases. About 4 in every 10 cases are in children and adolescents under age 15. Nine in every ten cases are from areas hit hard by food insecurity.

Ongoing insecurity and fuel access limitations are affecting epidemiological surveillance and access to health services, creating a high likelihood of underreporting of cases. Deteriorating conditions and large-scale population movements to makeshift sites have left the population highly vulnerable to cholera transmission. As of 13 November, only 6 of the country’s 22 main health institutions are functioning properly, with many facing challenges in securing sufficient fuel, medical supplies and/or staff.

Partners are responding through the distribution of oral rehydration and water purifying supplies, emergency health kits, cholera kits, dignity kits, medicines, food rations and water trucking where needed.

Ongoing support to public services includes assisting medical services, developing awareness campaigns on disease prevention, training community response teams and health workers in Ouest. The UN and the Government’s US$145 million Cholera Flash Appeal, launched 15 November, seeks to assist 1.4 million people.

LATIN AMERICA & THE CARIBBEAN: SOCIO-ECONOMIC OUTLOOK

KEY FIGURES

11% INCREASE IN 2023 FOOD PRICES IN REGION COMPARED TO 2021

According to the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean’s (ECLAC) Preliminary Overview of the Economies of Latin American and the Caribbean 2022, regional economic growth for the year will be 3.7 per cent, down from 6.7 per cent in 2021 due to internal and external uncertainty and internal restrictions.

In 2023, economic growth will continue to slow down and should reach 1.3 per cent. ECLAC notes this is the result of the monetary policies adopted worldwide during 2022 amid rising global inflation, among other factors.

This slowdown is likely to have an effect on existing humanitarian situations in Latin America and the Caribbean. Notably, while food prices have been falling in recent months, a trend expected to continue into the coming year, food prices in 2023 are still forecast to be 11 per cent higher than in 2021.

BOLIVIA: DROUGHT

KEY FIGURES

650K PEOPLE AFFECTED BY DROUGHT IN BOLIVIA

The Government is allocating US$17.5 million to address a severe drought that is affecting 160 of Bolivia's 340 municipalities, 71 of which have declared a state of emergency. This allocation includes $3.9 million for response.

This drought is affecting an estimated 650,000 people that include indigenous populations and some 230,000 hectares of crops, 8,000 hectares of which have been lost. About 4 million hectares to be used for the summer planting season are at risk.

The drought comes against the backdrop of ongoing wildfires in the Chaco lowlands and Chiquitania plains.

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UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
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