The Chief Executive Officer of Vaccine Alliance, Gavi, Dr Sania Nishtar, has said cholera vaccines will be arriving in Nigeria soon. In a post on her X handle on Thursday, Dr Nishtar shared that the vaccines will aid in combating the ongoing deadly cholera outbreak in the country. This announcement comes in response to the widespread outbreak of cholera across Nigeria. Nishtar said“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. 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.
“Despite the large number of cholera outbreaks this year, our stockpile is now fully replenished, and production continues at maximum capacity. We hope to keep supporting cholera-affected countries with their control plans. #stopcholera.”
Cholera, a highly contagious disease transmitted through contaminated food and water, is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae.
The primary cause of outbreaks is linked to the consumption of contaminated water and poor sanitation, conditions that are often exacerbated by the rainy season and resultant flooding and compromised water sources.
On June 27, Dr Nishtar had expressed concern over the worsening condition of cholera outbreak in Nigeria restating Gavi’s commitment to supporting the country’s response efforts, including the provision of emergency vaccine doses.
As of July 15, the Nigeria Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported 3,623 suspected cholera cases and 103 deaths across 34 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
The current outbreak has spread to 187 local government areas, with a cumulative case fatality rate of 2.8 percent since the beginning of the year.
Responding to her post, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof Muhammad Pate thanked Gavi’s CEO for facilitating the vaccines.
Pate tweeted, “Thanks #SaniaNishtar for facilitating our early access to
#gavi-funded #Cholera vaccines. We will deploy the vaccines efficiently and effectively in response to the ongoing outbreak.
“Thanks also to President Tinubu #officialABAT for his astute leadership in setting up a multi-sector cabinet committee to support the Emergence Operations Centre led by #NCDCgov to work with our 36 states in a national response to the outbreak. We are seeing early signs of slowing down but we’ll not relent as the situation can reverse. So, the cholera vaccines strengthen our hands.”
The minister also affirmed that the Federal Government is accelerating efforts to improve the water and sanitation situation in the country.
