WHO to donate about 3.5 million doses of cholera vaccine to Mozambique

Maputo, 22 Oct (AIM) – The World Health Organization (WHO) has pledged to donate about 3.5 million doses of cholera vaccine to Mozambique.

The announcement was made on Tuesday by Mozambican President Daniel Chapo, who was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of his four-day working visit to Geneva, after meeting with WHO Director-General, Tedros Ghebreyesus.

The Mozambican health authorities have recently recorded 143 new cases of cholera in the districts of Moma and Memba, in the northern province of Nampula.

“During the meeting, we were informed about the approval of approximately 3.5 million doses of cholera vaccine for our country, which will be administered to begin implementation of the National Cholera Elimination Plan (PEC),” the President said.

The PEC, which is budgeted at around 485 million dollars, is aimed at carrying out preventive vaccination against the disease in high-risk areas.

The plan is also aimed at eliminating cholera as a public health problem by 2030 by “promoting safe water, sanitation, and quality health care achieved through multisector and coordinated actions informed by scientific evidence.”

“With this support, the government will soon start administering the vaccine. Cholera is still a public health problem in our country, but with these doses from the WHO, we will continue to vaccinate our population towards the eradication of cholera”, said Chapo.

Last May, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and WHO delivered 2.3 million doses of cholera vaccine to the Health Ministry to strengthen efforts to protect children over one year old and their families in high-risk areas.
(AIM)
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