The head of the World Health Organisation has called for increased production of cholera vaccines, highlighting what he called a “critical shortage” around the globe.
The UN health agency said 307,433 cases of cholera and 2,326 deaths have been reported in 26 countries up to July 28.
In a post on X on Thursday, WHO chief Tedros Ghebreyesus said the response continues to be affected by a critical shortage of the vaccine, as demand continues to outpace supply.
According to him, about 105 million doses have been requested by 18 countries since January 2023 but only 55 million doses have been produced in the same period.
In a fresh situation update, the WHO said that between January and May 2024, the oral cholera vaccine stockpile “was entirely depleted”.
Tedros pushed for increased spending on “water and sanitation, and emergency preparedness to prevent further outbreaks” and advocated for “further investment in scaling up vaccine production” in all nations.
The WHO reported that the greatest number of cases have been reported in the eastern Mediterranean, Africa, and Southeast Asia. Because of the scarcity of vaccinations and the increasing number of cases, the WHO believes that there is a “very high” danger of cholera worldwide.
According to the World Health Organization, cholera infections have resumed since 2021 despite decades of progress in the fight against the disease, including in nations where it had been eradicated years earlier.
