New Delhi: The International Coordinating Group (ICG) on Vaccine Provision (ICG) has called for an urgent scaling up of the global cholera vaccine supply to combat the ongoing multi-year upsurge in cholera cases worldwide.
In a statement issued on March 21, the ICG said the world needs to invest in access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene, testing and detecting outbreaks quickly, improving the quality and access to healthcare, and fast-tracking additional production of affordable oral cholera vaccine (OCV) doses.
It noted that 473,000 cases of cholera were reported to the WHO in 2022, more than double the number of cases reported in 2021, and preliminary data for 2023 indicates further increases.
The ICG warned that several of the outbreaks have high case fatality rates, exceeding the 1% threshold used as an indicator for early and adequate treatment of cholera patients, adding that the situation is further aggravated by the fact that cholera is a preventable and treatable disease that had been declining in previous years.
The group said more needs to be done to ensure equitable access to affordable OCV doses for people affected by the disease, noting that the current supply shortage is of unprecedented levels.
The ICG also called on the international community to commit to increasing the production capacity of oral cholera vaccine, to invest in the development of new vaccines, and to improve the global distribution and allocation of vaccines, including through the Vaccine Alliance.
It urged governments, donors, vaccine manufacturers, partners, and communities to join together in an urgent effort to stop and reverse the rise in cholera cases worldwide.