The Global Alliance for vaccinations and Immunisation (Gavi) has announced that cholera vaccinations will be sent to Nigeria soon to assist manage the ongoing outbreak. In June, the federal government issued an emergency request for vaccines in response to the country’s cholera outbreak.
In a post on her X handle @SaniaNishtar, Dr. Sania Nishtar, Chief Executive Officer of Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance, stated that the cholera vaccines will help tackle the country’s ongoing cholera outbreak. The tweet adds, “We are encouraged to discover that cholera vaccinations from the Gavi-funded global vaccine stockpile will soon arrive in Nigeria to assist combat the country’s terrible and ongoing outbreak.
“We are ready to collaborate with our partners UNICEF and WHO to assist the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof Mohammed Ali Pate, the Federal Ministry of Health, and the Nigeria Centre for Diseases Control and Prevention, NCDC, in their timely efforts to contain this outbreak and protect those at greatest risk.
“Despite the enormous number of cholera incidents this year, our stockpile is now entirely refilled, and production is operating at full capacity. We aim to continue assisting cholera-affected countries with their control efforts.” Nishtar voiced concern over the increasing cholera outbreak in Nigeria, reaffirming Gavi’s commitment to assisting the country’s response efforts, including the provision of emergency vaccine doses.
Cholera is a severe, sometimes fatal diarrheal disease caused by the bacteria Vibrio cholerae. The oral cholera vaccination protects against cholera by boosting the intestinal immune response. In its most recent update, the NCDC recorded 3,623 suspected cholera cases and 103 deaths in 187 Local Government Areas in 34 states, with a cumulative case fatality rate of 2.8% since the start of the year.
Prof Mohammed Ali Pate, Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, acknowledged Gavi’s facilitation of immunisations in a response posted on his X account. Pate tweeted, “Thank you, Dr. Sania Nishtar, for facilitating our early access to Gavi-funded cholera vaccines.” We will respond to the ongoing outbreak by deploying vaccines efficiently and effectively.
“We also thank President Bola Tinubu for his astute leadership in establishing a multi-sector cabinet committee to support the Emergence Operations Centre, which is run by the NCDC and works with our 36 states in a national response to the outbreak.
We are witnessing early symptoms of slowing, but we will not give up because the situation can reverse. As a result, cholera immunisations strengthen our hands. Previously, the minister stated that the Federal government responded to the cholera outbreak by addressing issues of poor sanitation, availability to potable water, and contamination of water with faecal debris, and that cases have begun to plateau and trend lower.
“President Bola Tinubu established a cabinet committee with the NCDC and the Emergency Operations Centre. We brought together several ministries, including the Ministries of Water, Environment, Education, Aviation, Youth, Planning, and Finance, to form this cabinet committee, and each of those ministries, including the Ministry of Information, did their part in raising awareness. With their efforts, we’ve avoided a massive increase.
“It is too early to assume that the outbreak has ceased. It is too early because the rainy season has only just begun in some regions of the country.So we could see an increase.However, we believe that these initiatives have helped to contain the cholera outbreak. We’re on the verge of getting oral cholera vaccines licenced, so we went ahead and got them.
“So, in the case of cholera, we are very vigilant and prepared, and the President has provided the NCDC with the resources to reposition, and all of the states where we have discovered cases have received federal government support in terms of case management and information, so that we can deal with it. This is what we’ve done about it. So, we should be alert.”
Pate emphasised the need of preventing open defecation in order to ensure the safety of food and water. “When people have diarrhoea or vomit, they are swiftly transported to treatment facilities, where health workers identify them, rehydrate them, and treat them so that they do not succumb to the sickness.
“Our vaccination responses are dynamic. The more cases we discover, the more we need to treat them. If we don’t locate cases, the treatment load will be reduced. So for us, it’s about making an attempt to discover every case,” he said.