UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 2 (Xinhua) -- The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Friday that about 1.8 million Haitians have been adversely affected by Hurricane Sandy.
OCHA, the UN relief agency, made the announcement based on its first assessment of the situation in the country, adding that food security remains an urgent concern in the Caribbean nation.
Initial data collected by OCHA showed Hurricane Sandy, which plowed through the Caribbean country before hitting the U.S. East Coast, killed 60 people and significantly damaged critical infrastructure such as roads, schools and hospitals in addition to destroying thousands of homes.
Preliminary data estimated that food security had been severely affected, OCHA said, with up to two million people at risk of malnutrition.
In addition to food insecurity, OCHA said it is concerned about the nearly 350,000 people who are still living in camps for internally displaced persons as a result of a devastating earthquake which jolted the small island country in January 2010.
Because of the impact of the hurricane, OCHA said it is now considering an emergency revision of the Consolidated Appeal to accommodate increased needs.
During the same briefing, a spokesperson for the UN World Health Organization (WHO) reported that access to health services and restocking supplies was limited as rivers there had become impassable and roads had been obstructed. WHO also warned that poor sanitary conditions could increase the risk of water-borne diseases such as cholera, which is still endemic in the Caribbean country.
The WHO spokesperson said there has already been an increase in cholera alerts, especially in the south, and added that field teams are monitoring the situation closely. WHO is also working with the Haitian government in the area to ensure that health supplies could be delivered to treatment centers that had been damaged by strong winds and flooding, according to the spokesperson.
Cuba was also severely affected by the hurricane, OCHA said, with power cuts affecting more than 890,000 people and nearly 200, 000 homes damaged by the storm.
In addition, 375 health centers and several hospitals were damaged, as were 2,100 schools. Crops have been damaged and remote communities are cut off because of damaged roads and bridges.
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