Legislative and elections were due to take place in January 2012 at the latest, but in spite of an agreement signed in December between the executive and legislative branches to form an electoral commission, there have been no new developments.

“In the absence of these elections, over the past year we have seen the replacement of some 130 elected municipal governments with Presidential appointees,” said the Acting Special Representative of the Secretary-General and head of the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), Nigel Fisher.

At the legislative level, the mandate of one-third of Haiti’s senators expired in May 2012 and more terms will end in early 2014, impairing the Senate’s functions, Fisher warned.

“Holding credible elections in 2013 is fundamental to reinforce Haiti’s democratic institutions, strengthen the rule of law and respond to the urgent needs of Haiti’s citizens such as employment and social protection.”

The Caribbean nation has been re-building since the earthquake that struck in early January 2010, killing some 220,000 people and making 1.5 million others homeless, in addition to causing widespread destruction – particularly in the capital, Port-au-Prince – and a major humanitarian crisis.

Fisher added that, over the past year, Haiti has continued to face many challenges, including a slow economic growth rate that fell below forecasted levels, high unemployment rates, a recent spike in cholera cases, two tropical storms, and regional droughts that have exacerbated the high levels of food insecurity facing many households.

“Progress on elections has become the barometer for measuring progress towards a more inclusive political culture and for addressing institutional and development challenges, but Haiti faces many challenges beyond the electoral process alone,” Mr. Fisher said, adding that in spite of these obstacles, advances are still being made and the security situation remains stable overall.

Regarding the cholera epidemic, Fisher said the UN is committed to continue its support and to redouble efforts to mobilize the significant additional resources needed to fight this disease, improve water and sanitation, and strengthen the national health care network.

“I remain convinced that Haiti can and will make great progress in overcoming the political divisions, engaging in important and necessary reforms in the institutional and State law and responding to the urgent needs of its citizens,” he added.

In November 2011, a claim for compensation was brought against the UN on behalf of victims of the cholera outbreak in Haiti.

“Today, the United Nations advised the claimants’ representatives that the claims are not receivable pursuant to Section 29 of the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations,” spokesperson Martin Nesirky told reporters in New York.

Mr. Ban, in a telephone call to Haitian President Michel Martelly, informed him of the decision and reiterated the UN’s commitment to eliminating the disease in Haiti, Mr. Nesirky added.

“Since the outbreak began in 2010, the United Nations and its partners have worked closely with the people and Government of Haiti to provide treatment, improve water and sanitation facilities and strengthen prevention and early warning,” he noted.

In December 2012, Mr. Ban launched an initiative for the elimination of cholera in Haiti, which aims to strengthen Haiti’s own National Cholera Elimination Plan through significant investments and the use of an oral cholera vaccine.

Following the launch of the initiative, the Secretary-General appointed renowned United States physician Paul Farmer to help galvanize support to eliminate cholera in Haiti, where the disease had already claimed over 7,750 lives by the end of 2012.

The initiative will invest in prevention, treatment, and education, and focus on the extension of clean drinking water and sanitation systems as well as the use of an oral vaccine to combat cholera, an acute intestinal infection caused by consuming contaminated food or water.

“The Secretary-General again expresses his profound sympathy for the terrible suffering caused by the cholera epidemic, and calls on all partners in Haiti and the international community to work together to ensure better health and a better future for the people of Haiti,” Mr. Nesirky said.

“Urgent action needs to be taken in critical areas to help stop the spread of this disease,” said the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Regional Director for Africa, Luis Sambo. “Governments need to declare an emergency early so as to benefit from the necessary technical and other support of partners. Just as crucial are better surveillance and cross-border collaboration between health authorities.”

Cholera is an acute intestinal infection caused by eating food or drinking water contaminated with the bacterium known as vibrio cholerae. The disease has a short incubation period and produces a toxin that causes continuous watery diarrhoea, a condition that can quickly lead to severe dehydration and death if treatment is not administered promptly. Vomiting also occurs in most patients.

In a news release, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said that 55,289 cases of cholera have been reported just this year in 15 countries in the region, which have led to 1,109 deaths.

The disease, whose transmission is exacerbated by poor sanitation and hygiene practices, is spreading fast in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, as well as along the Congo River, affecting people in the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and western Niger.

Exceptionally heavy rains have contributed to its spread, as they flood shanty towns in urban centres, leaving many without access to latrines or a clean water supply.

WHO is currently working with governments in the affected countries to ensure an effective response, while UNICEF is supplying equipment, chlorine and medicines, the agencies said.

“Public health measures must become much more of a priority for governments,” said the Acting UNICEF Regional Director for West and Central Africa, Manuel Fontaine. “We are now seeing children and their families falling prey to a disease that is avoidable.”

Fatality rates in the region can range up to eight per cent, which WHO and UNICEF described as “unacceptably high.” These rates are also 34 per cent higher compared to the same period last year.

In a press briefing in Geneva, Glenn Thomas, a spokesperson for the World Health Organization (WHO), confirmed the spread of cholera to an additional two districts of the West African country, noting that since the beginning of 2012, there had been 11,189 reported cases and 203 deaths due to the outbreak.

Thomas told reporters that the WHO was supporting the Government of Sierra Leone in the areas of epidemiology and social mobilization and had sent three cholera experts form its regional office to respond to the deteriorating crisis.

Cholera is an acute intestinal infection caused by eating food or drinking water contaminated with the bacterium known as vibrio cholerae. The disease has a short incubation period and produces a toxin that causes continuous watery diarrhoea, a condition that can quickly lead to severe dehydration and death if treatment is not administered promptly. Vomiting also occurs in most patients.

In his briefing, Thomas also provided an update on the outbreak of Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where a total of 15 cases of viral contamination, including nine deaths, have been reported.

He said that the WHO was supporting the DRC Ministry of Health in conducting a series of epidemiological investigations as well as surveillance, public information and social mobilization initiatives.

Ebola is transmitted by direct contact with the blood, secretions, other bodily fluids or organs of infected persons or animals such as chimpanzees, gorillas, monkeys and antelopes, and it has an incubation period of two to 21 days.

Sufferers can experience fever, intense weakness, muscle pain, headaches and a sore throat, as well as vomiting, diarrhoea, rashes and impaired kidney and liver function. In the most severe cases, the virus leads to both external and internal bleeding. The most recent outbreak happened last month in Uganda with a total of 20 cases, including 14 deaths, reported across the western part of the country.

In its briefing, the WHO added that it did not recommend that any travel or trade restrictions be applied to the DRC because of the outbreak.