UNICEF
Nigeria: UNICEF donates 600,000 more doses of cholera vaccine to contain outbreak
The global health organisation, the United Nations Children and Educational Fund, UNICEF, has given additional 600,000 doses of cholera vaccine to attack and curb its spread in Nigeria.
Indeed, the vaccine donation is part of the global response by partners after Borno State records 451 suspected cholera cases, says UNICEF deputy representative in Nigeria, Rownak Khan, on Tuesday.
Khan said the vaccine and other medical items were part of a global response to halt the spread of cholera, a waterborne disease which hit Borno State weeks after massive flooding damaged sanitary facilities and water supply.
Khan, who spoke in Maiduguri, the state capital, after handing over the items to the government, said: “This oral cholera vaccine was a joint effort between the government and the partners. UNICEF is one of the partners. We also have other partners who also put a lot of effort to bring the cholera vaccine to Nigeria.”
According to her, the donation also included acute water diarrhea kits and hospital beds worth $69,000.
Only last month, UNICEF delivered the first 300,000 doses of cholera vaccine to the state, starting massive vaccination in the area.
Abubakar Hassan, special adviser to the Borno State governor on Health, said the state is yet to record any cholera-related deaths days after the outbreak of the disease was reported.
Authorities said 451 suspected cases of cholera were recorded in Borno on Oct. 4, with 128 cases testing positive after a rapid diagnostic process.