Iraq: UN backs conference to prevent recurrence of cholera outbreak in Kurdistan

A United Nations-backed international conference is under way in Iraq’s Kurdistan region to draw up measures to prevent a recurrence of last year’s cholera outbreak, which saw more than 30,000 people fall ill with acute watery diarrhoea.

“Last year’s crisis demonstrated how crucial it is to embark on concerted efforts to urgently improve the delivery of basic services to the population in order that another outbreak of cholera does not occur again this year,” UN Development Programme (UNDP) country director Paolo Lembo told the gathering of the disease, which is spread by drinking contaminated water and in extreme cases can be fatal.

“The United Nations will do everything it can to support such efforts,” he said, citing the need for the international community’s assistance given the risks for the region of another outbreak.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Special Representative for Iraq Staffan de Mistura and Kurdistan Regional Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani are patrons of the conference, and UNDP, the UN World Health Organisation (WHO) and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) are participating.