Nigeria is expected to receive about 9 million doses of Oral Cholera Vaccines (OCV) to tackle the spate of cholera outbreaks in the country.
Country Representative, World Health Organisation (WHO) Dr Walter Mulombo made this known at the opening ceremony of the Global Task Force on Cholera Control (GTFCC) training on in Abuja.
The training organised by WHO aims to integrate OCV into the emergency and preventive measures of cholera in Nigeria.
According to Mr Mulombo, the expected vaccines will ensure the implementation of 2 campaigns in 14 LGAs across 9 states, including the Federal Capital Territory, which will mitigate an upsurge of Cholera especially during the rainy season.
However he explained that over 1.7 million persons have already been vaccinated with 2 doses of OCV across 7 LGAs in; Bauchi, Jigawa, Yobe and Zamfara.
Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire described the OCV as a tool for prevention and control of cholera outbreaks, “which has become a recurrent seasonal public health challenge in many low and lower-middle-income countries like Nigeria.”
He said the traditional measures for cholera prevention and control have been to provide potable water and improve hygiene, adding that the OCV is an additional tool in fighting cholera outbreaks in the country.
RN