Rita Odafe
The Chief Executive Officer of Gavi, Dr. Sania Nishtar, has announced the imminent arrival of cholera vaccines in Nigeria to combat the ongoing outbreak.
The primary goal of the vaccine is to alleviate the severe impact of the disease outbreak.
On June 27, 2024, Nishatar expressed apprehension about the cholera outbreak in Nigeria and Gavi’s readiness to aid the country, including supplying emergency vaccine doses if needed.
Cholera, a highly infectious disease spread through contaminated water and food, is caused by ingesting the bacterium Vibrio cholerae.
Contributing factors to the outbreak include consuming contaminated water, poor sanitation, exacerbated by the rainy season leading to increased cholera cases due to flooding and water source contamination.
As of July 15, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has recorded 3,623 suspected cholera cases and 103 deaths across 34 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
The outbreak has spread to 187 Local Government Areas, with a case fatality rate of 2.8% since the beginning of the year.
Dr. Jide Idris, the Director-General of the NCDC, highlighted that the most affected age group is five years old, with males comprising 52% of cases and females 48%.
He also mentioned a 5.6% decrease in cases reported in the current week (July 8 – 14) compared to the previous week.
Dr. Sania Nishtar, in a recent post, expressed optimism about the arrival of cholera vaccines in Nigeria and commended the efforts of partners to support the containment of the outbreak and safeguard the high-risk population.
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof Muhammad Pate, extended gratitude to Gavi’s CEO for facilitating the provision of vaccines.
He emphasized the efficient deployment of vaccines in response to the ongoing outbreak and acknowledged the collaborative efforts at the national level to address the situation.
The Federal Government is actively working to improve water and sanitation conditions in the country.
There are three oral cholera vaccines pre-qualified by the World Health Organization: Dukoral, Shanchol, and Euvichol, each requiring two doses for complete protection.
