On Sunday, the Syria Response Coordinators team launched an urgent appeal to humanitarian actors and organizations to repair damage to the sewage network in the Harem area, north of Idleb. The broken infrastructure has coincided with a significant increase in the number of cholera cases in the region.
The team has recorded around 109 cases of cholera in the Harem area since the cholera outbreak began, with 42 percent of cases occurring in camps for displaced people. The team attributed this trend to “contamination of drinking water due to breaches in the area’s sewage network.”
The team called for “repairing the damage to prevent sewage from contaminating drinking water.”
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It pointed out that the cholera crisis coincides with the suspension of water services in dozens of villages and towns in the region, in addition to dozens of camps that have been receiving support for several months.
“In the current situation, what is worrying is the impact of spreading diseases on the socio-economic situation, as the region faces an economic crisis and extreme poverty. Accordingly, the consequences may be much more serious in terms of water, food and healthcare shortages,” the team said.
The team called on “international agencies and humanitarian organizations to focus more efforts on providing the necessary support to healthcare institutions in the region.”
It also called on these institutions to work towards “containing widespread diseases, limiting their spread, and providing necessary support to the region’s people in light of the high prices, which exceed the capacity of civilians to secure them on a daily basis.”
On Monday, the Early Warning Network recorded about 300 suspected cases of cholera in the Harem area, and more than 98 suspected cases on Sunday.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
