UNITED NATIONS, United States (CMC) — The United Nations has launched a new trust fund to support a coordinated system-wide response from the UN and its partners to help Haiti overcome the cholera epidemic and support the establishment of strong water, sanitation and health systems in the French-speaking Caribbean country.

The UN said that outgoing Secretary General Ban Ki-moon established the UN Haiti Cholera Response Multi-Partner Trust Fund (MPTF) “to generate and manage resources to rapidly supply the UN system responses in the Caribbean country”.

“The Trust Fund will direct the resources contributed by donors to the highest-priority activities of the system-wide approach, focused on intensifying emergency response to address cholera transmission, as well as ensuring rapid access to effective care and treatment in parallel with investments to build sound water, sanitation and health systems, the best long-term defense against cholera and other water-borne diseases,” the UN said.

The UN said member states, regional bodies, inter-governmental organisations, businesses and individuals can make contributions to the trust fund.

Last Friday, at UN Headquarters in New York, Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson briefed member states on the issue, saying the first track of the new UN approach to tackling cholera involves intensifying efforts to treat and eliminate the disease.

He said the second track aims to develop a framework proposal to member states for material assistance to those Haitians most affected by cholera after the 2010 outbreak.

The UN said the new system-wide approach is also developing a proposal for a package of material assistance and support for those Haitians most affected by cholera.

While early funding is urgently required to support the implementation of the new approach, the UN said the trust fund will also support other interventions, including responding to the increased risk of cholera caused by the devastation brought by Hurricane Mathew.