Ethiopian Informer
ADDIS ABABA (EI): Ethiopia has vaccinated more than 10 million individuals in a national effort to curb the ongoing cholera outbreak, which is among the longest-lasting outbreaks in the country’s recent history, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) has disclosed.
In a press statement issued Wednesday, the UN health agency said an oral cholera vaccination campaign was launched in Ethiopia to protect at-risk populations in cholera-affected districts across Ethiopia’s eight regions, including Afar, Amhara, Oromia, Central Ethiopia, South Ethiopia, Sidma and Somali.
It said covering 89 districts, including Internally Displaced People (IDPs) and refugee camps, the campaign achieved 98.4 percent coverage, vaccinating over 10,196,575 people.
“Two years after the cholera outbreak began in August 2022, the country has continued to battle the disease, with a recent increase in the number of cases. The re-emergence of the outbreak in the Amhara region, particularly in areas affected by armed conflict and new displacements, poses a dual burden,” the statement read.
According to the WHO, under the leadership of the Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI), multi-sectoral stakeholders have implemented response measures to interrupt transmission. These measures include house-to-house disinfection, water testing and treatment, and latrine construction. Risk communication and community engagement efforts were also undertaken to promote healthy behaviors and eliminate risky practices like open defecation. Active case search and case management were continuing.
It said the national anti-cholera campaign was “conducted successfully despite challenges posed by conflict and other emergencies in some parts of the country.
Despite these efforts, however, the WHO said lack of funding is “severely impeding the response,” adding that “it is critical that ongoing multi-sectoral interventions be combined with extensive investments in safe water supply and sanitation systems to combat the outbreak effectively.”
Recent data from the WHO’s periodic regional cholera bulletin that was published last month show that in 2024 alone, Ethiopia has reported 143 cholera deaths, with 19,271 cholera cases reported from January 1 to June 30.
The current cholera outbreak is among the longest ever in Ethiopia, with the first case recorded in August 2022.
Cholera is an acute diarrheal infection caused by consuming food or water contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio Cholerae. The disease results in severe acute watery diarrhoea and severe dehydration. Symptoms can appear between 12 hours and 5 days after consumption of contaminated food or water. Cholera affects both children and adults and can be fatal within hours if untreated, but early detection and fluid replacement with oral rehydration solutions or intravenous fluids can save lives, according to WHO.
The UN health agency classified the global resurgence of cholera as a grade 3 emergency in January 2023, the highest internal level for emergencies in WHO.
Also in June this year, it announced a spike in cholera in several regions of the world, with almost 195,000 cases and over 1,900 deaths reported in 24 countries since the start of this year.
WHO, in its external situation report of multi-country cholera outbreak issued last month, also said despite the global stockpile of Oral Cholera Vaccines (OCV) reaching 7.5 million doses by July 8, 2024, after being depleted until early March, a critical shortage persists as demand continues to outpace supply, with 102 million doses requested by 17 countries since January 2023, nearly double the 51 million doses produced in this period.
(PHOTO credit WHO)
