The United Nations (UN) and charity alliance Gavi said, the biggest cholera vaccine drive in history gets underway in Africa, targeted at reining in a spate of outbreaks across the continent.
According to Gavi, Over two million people will receive the oral cholera vaccine as part of five major campaigns in Malawi, Nigeria, South Sudan, Uganda and Zambia, adding that the campaigns should be complete by mid-June.
"This is an unprecedented response to a spike in cholera outbreaks across Africa," Gavi chief Seth Berkley said in a statement.
At least 12 regions or countries in sub-Saharan Africa are currently facing cholera Epidemic, according to Gavi and the World Health Organization.
According to the UN health agency, cholera infects 1.3 million to four million people every year and kills an estimated 21,000-143,000 -- mainly in poor countries.
The ongoing campaigns in Africa are being implemented by the health ministries in the five countries, where thousands of cases of the disease have been reported.
The vaccines themselves come from a global stockpile, which has grown substantially in recent years, in step with the recognition of the role the vaccine can play in halting the spread of the bacterial disease.
