Response to Haiti cholera crisis 'inadequate'

The international response to Haiti's deadly cholera epidemic is "inadequate" and woefully short of funding, aid groups including the UN's humanitarian agency have said.

As the death toll from the epidemic climbed above 1,180, the huge humanitarian operation in Haiti appeared to be losing the battle against the latest catastrophe to beset the poor Caribbean nation after a devastating earthquake in January.

"Despite the huge presence of international organisations, the cholera response has been inadequate in meeting the needs of the population," Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres said in a statement.

In more than a month, the cholera epidemic has spread to eight of the country's ten provinces and some 20,000 people have been treated in hospitals for the diarrhoeal disease, which can kill in hours through dehydration if not treated quickly.

The anti-cholera campaign has been complicated by reports - rebuffed as inconclusive by the UN - that Nepalese peacekeepers brought the disease to Haiti.