Following confirmation that cholera has already killed 250 people in Haiti, ActionAid today confirmed that none of the children it reaches via its Haitian child sponsorship scheme have so far contracted the disease.

Over 2000 British families sponsor children with ActionAid in Haiti including in one the cholera affected areas, Central Plateau.

ActionAid spokesperson Jean Claude Fignole said: “Whilst the epidemic appears to have been contained, aid agencies are not complacent.

“Cholera can kill within hours and children are particularly at risk. The big worry is if it reaches the camps near the capital, Port au Prince,  that are home to hundreds of thousands of people.

“That’s why ActionAid in Haiti is initiating hygiene and cleanliness campaigns in the areas in which we are working, and are ready with supplies of hygiene kits and oral rehydration salts should any cholera cases arise.”

The earthquake, which struck Haiti in January, killed up to 300,000 people and left a further million displaced or homeless. The current cholera epidemic is thought to have been caused by the contamination of the Artibonite river, which crosses the rural centre of the country and is used by thousands for washing and cooking.