The World Health Organisation (WHO) has 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.
The agency’s Eastern Mediterranean Region reported the highest number of cases, followed by African, the Americas, the Southeast Asia, and the European region.
WHO, in a statement on Thursday, said that there are no reported cases in the Western region. The UN health agency said it exhausted its global stockpile of Oral Cholera Vaccines (OCV) by March but was able to exceed “the emergency target of five million doses in early June for the first time in 2024.”
WHO reported that since January 2023, 16 countries requested 95 million doses of OCV; almost double the 49 million produced during that time.
WHO, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and other partners are working together to use resources to find long-term solutions for cholera.