“Cholera Vaccine Will Soon be Available in Nigeria” says Gavi

Dr. Sania Nishtar, the CEO of Vaccine Alliance, Gavi, revealed on her X handle on Thursday, 18 July 2024 that cholera vaccines would soon be arriving in Nigeria to assist the devastating and continuing illness outbreak. She said on June 27, 2024, that the organization was worried about the cholera outbreak in Nigeria and prepared to assist the nation in responding, including requesting emergency vaccination doses where necessary.

When contaminated food or water is consumed, the organism Vibrio cholerae is ingested, leading to cholera, a highly contagious food and waterborne disease.

The main contributing factors are the use of contaminated water and poor sanitation, which are made worse by the arrival of the rainy season. The latter frequently results in an increase in cholera cases because of flooding and dirty water sources.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention ( NCDC) reported 3,623 suspected cases of cholera in 34 states and the Federal Capital Territory, as of July 15, along with 103 fatalities. Since the start of the year, the current outbreak has spread to 187 Local Government Areas and has resulted in a cumulative case fatality rate of 2.8%. However, the agency noted that compared to the previous week, there was a 5.6% decrease in the number of cases in this reporting week (July 8–14).

“Encouraged to learn that #Cholera vaccines from the #Gavi-funded global vaccine stockpile will soon arrive in Nigeria to help curb the country’s deadly and ongoing outbreak,” Nishtar tweeted on Thursday, 18 July 2024. We stand ready to work with our partners #UNICEF and #WHO to support Minister #muhammadpate, #Fmohnigeria, and #NCDCgov’s timely efforts to contain this outbreak and protect those at the highest risk.

“We continue to support cholera-affected countries with their control plans, and despite the high number of outbreaks this year, our stockpile is fully replenished and production is running at maximum capacity. #stopcholera.”

The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Pate, reacted to her tweet by thanking the CEO of Gavi for making the immunizations possible.

“Thanks, #SaniaNishtar for enabling our early access to #gavi-funded #Cholera vaccines,” tweeted Pate. To address the current outbreak, we will distribute the vaccines efficiently and effectively.

“We also thank President Tinubu #officialABAT for his wise leadership in establishing a multi-sector cabinet committee to support the Emergence Operations Centre led by #NCDCgov in working with our 36 states in a national response to the outbreak. We are witnessing early indications of slowing down, but we won’t back down because the situation can turn around. Therefore, the cholera vaccines strengthen our hands.”

The Minister further stated that the Federal Government is working harder to enhance the nation’s water and sanitation conditions. There are three oral cholera vaccines that have been pre-qualified by the World Health Organization: Dukoral, Shanchol, and Euvichol. For complete protection, two doses of the vaccination are needed.

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