Harrowing hospital scenes as cholera hits Haiti

Thousands of people across Haiti are becoming sick with cholera amidst a rapidly spreading outbreak. Medical staff struggle to provide care amid the ongoing economic and political crisis, and fuel, water and other basic supplies growing scarcer by the day.

Many Haitians are dying because they are unable to reach a hospital in time because of a spike in gang violence that makes it unsafe for people to leave their communities. At least 40 deaths and 1,700 suspected cases have been reported so far. But officials believe the numbers are much higher, especially in crowded and unsanitary shanty towns and government shelters where thousands of Haitians live.

Children younger than age 14 make up half of cholera cases in Haiti, according to UNICEF. Haiti's poverty has worsened the situation. Officials have warned that growing cases of severe malnutrition make children more vulnerable to illness.