UN marks one-year anniversary of Haiti earthquake

UNITED NATIONS -- The United Nations (UN) on Wednesday remembered the victims of the devastating earthquake that struck Haiti last year.

In the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince, staff at the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti gathered for memorial events which included a formal ceremony and the unveiling of a monument in honor of UN staff members who were killed in the earthquake. Among the attendees was UN's peacekeeping operations chief, Under-Secretary-General Alain Le Roy.

Meanwhile, at the UN Headquarters in New York, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon took part in a wreath-laying ceremony on Wednesday afternoon, timed to coincide with the hour at which the earthquake struck - at 4:53 p.m. local time on January 12, 2010.

UN urges massive campaign in Haiti to increase cholera prevention measures

UNITED NATIONS - United Nations (UN) humanitarian officials are calling for "massive mobilization activities" in Haiti to promote prevention and early treatment in the cholera epidemic which has already killed more than 2,760 people and infected over 130,000 others, nearly 71,000 of whom were hospitalized.

Major gaps and constraints in fighting the epidemic - is spread by contaminated water and food - since it broke out in October include access to clean water and latrines in health facilities and cholera treatment centers, access to health care, and coordination, according to the latest update by the UN Office for the Coordination for Humanitarian Affairs.

"There is an urgent need for massive mobilization activities to promote prevention and early treatment," it said. "In addition, controlling the epidemic will depend on the level of access to safe water and basic sanitation and implementation of hygiene measures."

Farmers' fear of cholera threatens rice harvest in Haiti – UN

UNITED NATIONS (BNO NEWS) -- Farmers in north-western Haiti are likely to lose a significant portion of their rice harvest due to reluctance to work in paddy fields they fear are contaminated by the cholera-causing bacteria, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said on Wednesday.

The FAO said the cholera epidemic in Haiti has claimed the lives of more than 2,700 people and infected some 130,000 others since October, adding that it is helping to carry out a hygiene awareness campaign among the farming communities.