The World Health Organization announced that a cholera epidemic has spread in at least 31 countries this year, exposing about one billion people to the risk of contracting the disease worldwide, calling on the international community to raise $160 million to combat it.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, said in a speech before representatives of diplomatic missions in Geneva: “We should have defeated this disease a long time ago, but in fact it is growing.”
Ghebreyesus added: “The number of reports of cholera in 2022 doubled compared to 2021, and this year will be the worst,” noting that at least 31 countries were hit by a cholera epidemic in 2023.
He warned that the rainy season increases the risk of a serious outbreak and re-emergence in countries that eliminated cholera many years ago.
The Director-General of the World Health Organization warned of a major shortage of vital supplies, including the oral cholera vaccine.
According to a World Health Organization bulletin issued at the beginning of this October, the number of cholera cases has exceeded 582,000 since the beginning of the year, while more than 4.5 thousand people have died from the disease.
QNA