By Caribbean360 From St Lucia News Online

CARIBBEAN360 – The United Nations has finally acknowledged that it played a role in an outbreak of cholera in Haiti in 2010 that has since killed about 10,000 people and continues to sicken thousands every year.

The deadly cholera epidemic began to unfold within months of the devastating 2010 earthquake. It went on to sweep through the sprawling tent cities that had become home to thousands of displaced families.

Experts traced the outbreak to a base housing UN peacekeepers sent from Nepal to assist with the recovery efforts. But for years, the UN has refused to accept responsibility for introducing the killer disease to the impoverished Caribbean nation.

An internal report seen by the New York Times is said to have led to the change of heart, but the UN still maintains that it is protected by diplomatic immunity from claims for compensation from victims’ families.

Farhan Haq, a spokesman for UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, said that “over the past year the UN has become convinced it needs to do much more regarding its own involvement in the initial outbreak and the suffering of those affected by cholera.”

IMAGE: The cholera ward at the Hospital Albert Schweitzer on Thursday, October 28, 2010 in Deschapelles, Haiti.

For more on this story go to: http://www.stlucianewsonline.com/caribbean-un-accepts-blame-for-spreading-cholera-in-haiti-but-refuses-to-pay-compensation/