The World Health Organization has requested US$160.4 million to respond to cholera under the global strategic preparedness, readiness, and response plan

Conflict, climate change, limited investment in development and population displacement have contributed to a surge in the number of cholera outbreaks, says the WHO report released on September 22.

It says the end of restrictions imposed due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), including fewer infection prevention and control measures, and reduced funding for outbreak response have also impacted other diseases, including cholera.

Long term development, including water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), is the long term solution for preventing cholera, the WHO adds.

The cases reported to WHO in 2022 were more than double those in 2021. The cases surged to 472697 as compared to 223370 in 2021. Forty-four countries reported cases, a 25% increase from the 35 countries that reported them in 2021.

Data for 2023 suggests that this global upsurge is continuing. Twenty-four countries are currently reporting active outbreaks, with some countries in the midst of acute crises.

Cholera is an acute intestinal infection that spreads through food and water contaminated with faeces containing the bacterium Vibrio Cholerae. It is closely linked to the lack of adequate safe water and sanitation, due to underdevelopment, poverty and conflict. Climate change too is playing a role in this upsurge as extreme climate events like floods, droughts and cyclones trigger new outbreaks and worsen existing ones.

The geographical pattern of outbreaks also changed, as countries that had not reported cholera in many years, including Lebanon and the Syria, reported large outbreaks in 2022.

Very large outbreaks of over 10 000 cases were reported by seven countries on two continents – Afghanistan, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Malawi, Nigeria, Somalia, Syria – which is more than double the number of very large outbreaks reported in each of the three previous years

The increased demand for cholera materials has been a challenge for disease control efforts globally. Since October 2022, the International Coordinating Group (ICG)—the body which manages emergency supplies of vaccines—has suspended the standard two-dose vaccination regimen in cholera outbreak response campaigns, using instead a single-dose approach.

The World Health Organization has requested US$160.4 million to respond to cholera under the global strategic preparedness, readiness, and response plan. US$16.6 million has been released from the WHO Contingency Fund for Emergencies for cholera response in 2022 and 2023.

Also read : Surge in cholera outbreaks puts 1 billion people at risk