Facing an unprecedented cholera epidemic,
the government of the small African country of S=E3o Tomé and Príncipe has
asked for United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) staff members to work
in its hospitals.
"The Government was very concerned
by the situation, which could become significantly worse," UNICEF
spokesman Damien Personnaz told a news briefing in Geneva today.
As of today 715 cases have been reported, 17 of them fatal. Two weeks ago there were only 320 cases, and nine deaths. All the cases have been on the main island of S=E3o Tomé, 30 per cent of them children under 14.
The total population of the islands State in the Gulf of Guinea is some 180,000.