NEW YORK — An innovative financing model aiming to fund programs that could reduce cholera-related deaths by 90% has been launched by the Islamic Development Bank and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
The One WASH Fund aims to reach 5 million people in 29 of the most cholera-affected countries, all of which are member states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation — an international organization working to protect the interests of Muslim communities while promoting international peace and harmony — by supplying $100 million to IFRC water, sanitation, hygiene, and public health interventions.
Cholera, an acute diarrhoeal disease, affects 2.9 million people each year and causes 100,000 deaths, with a lack of clean drinking water often to blame. OIC countries are some of the worst affected. The disease is estimated to cost $1.6 billion per year in emergency response and health care costs, while providing access to basic WASH services is estimated to cost between $40 and $80 per person.