WHO requests funds to strengthen cholera surveillance

Geneva, Sep 6 (Prensa Latina) The World Health Organization (WHO) has requested 50 million dollars from donor countries and institutions to strengthen surveillance, provide medical supplies to health systems, and implement stricter preventive measures in the face of the alarming rise of cholera.

September 6, 2024
09:52

WHO associates this worrying increase in cases to several factors, including armed conflict, climate change, lack of access to safe water and sanitation, and people’s displacement due to emerging conflicts and natural disasters.

Despite the number of cases reported in 2024 is lower compared to the same period in 2023, the UN health agency underscored that the global cholera risk remains high, with 22 countries reporting active outbreaks.

Until August 22, 342,800 cholera cases and 2,400 deaths related to the disease have already been reported to WHO across all continents.

Data collected by that health agency in 2023 showed more than 535,000 cholera cases and 4,000 deaths, figures that contrast with the more than 472,000 cases and 2,350 deaths reported in 2022, which exposes a significant rise.

This underscores the serious shortcomings in access to essential treatment in many regions globally.

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