Press Review: UN urges immediate action to stop Haitian cholera epidemic & Malala Fund to focus on Syrian child refugees

March 11, 2014
tags:	#Caribbean, #children, #cholera, #development, #education, #Haiti, #humanitarian crisis, #Malala Yousafzai, #refugee camps, #refugees, #sanitation, #South America, #Syria, #United Nations
located:	Haiti, Syria
by:	Rebecca Silus

The UN’s assistant secretary general is asking European leaders to deal with Haiti’s cholera epidemic, which has killed almost 9,000 people since 2010 and poses a major threat to the Caribbean and South America.

Pedro Medrano Rojas says a proposed 10-year plan would eradicate cholera by building public health and sanitation services, but would require $69m in funding over the next two years; so far only $6m has been secured. He urges donors to act immediately in order to stem the epidemic. [The Guardian]

After a recent trip to visit Syrian refugees, Malala Yousafzai and Shiza Shahid have decided to dedicate the Malala Fund to helping Syria’s refugee children. Speaking about their plans, Shadid described the challenges of educating children in emergency situations in which they are unable to attend schools in their host country due to language and cultural barriers. To work within these constraints, the Malala Fund is partnering with community organizations in Jordan and hoping to renew attention to the humanitarian crisis in Syria. [Christian Science Monitor, Malala Fund]

Article written by: