The New York Times examines the global response to Haiti’s cholera epidemic, writing that while “[m]any health officials consider the cholera response ‘pretty remarkable,’ as John Vertefeuille, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s director in Haiti, said … [o]thers … believe the bar for success was set too low and more lives could have been saved.” The newspaper continues, “[A]s the deaths and continuing caseload indicate, the world’s response to this preventable, treatable scourge has proved inadequate.”

“In the 17 months since [the outbreak began], cholera has killed more than 7,050 Haitians and sickened more than 531,000, or five percent of the population,” the Times writes, adding, “The world rallied to confront cholera, … but the mission was muddled by the United Nations’ apparent role in igniting the epidemic and its unwillingness to acknowledge it.” The newspaper provides a detailed account of the epidemic as well as the global response, and provides links to a video report and an infographic documenting the spread of the disease (Sontag/Paultre, 3/31).