Anjali Sharma
GG News Bureau
UNITED NATIONS, 6th April. World Health agency on Friday said that a massive cholera-busting initiative is underway with more than 1.2 million rapid diagnostic tests to fight the disease in 14 countries, in a press release issued in New York.
According to the WHO, this is the largest global deployment of cholera tests ever. The first shipment was due to land in Malawi.
It is coordinated by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the tests will help local health authorities to improve the detection of cholera, monitor outbreaks and judge the effectiveness of their vaccination campaigns.
The cholera test kits are bound for countries at high risk of outbreaks in the coming months, including Ethiopia, Somalia, Syria and Zambia, and they follow pilot studies in DR Congo, Niger and Nepal, the agency added.
Cholera has been rising globally since 2021, with high numbers of deaths despite the availability of simple, effective and affordable treatment, WHO stated.
The global rise in the preventable disease has been driven by poor access to safe water and sanitation and the failure to detect outbreaks quickly to limit their spread.
WHO noted that communities impacted often do not have access to basic health services, a situation made worse by climate-related factors, conflict and population displacement.
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