Nigeria recorded more than 100,000 suspected Cholera cases in 2021, its highest in recent times, the World Health Organisation stated in Abuja on Monday.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) had said earlier that the country recorded 111,062 cases of Cholera in 2021, with 3,604 deaths, figures exceeding the number of cases and deaths registered in 2020.

WHO Country Representative in Nigeria, Walter Mulombo, corroborated the figure at a training session on oral cholera vaccine requests and campaign planning organised by the Global Task Force on Cholera Control (GTFCC), an agency of the WHO.

He said the agency had proven effective in developing national control plans, which included vaccination and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) activities.

“We are mindful of the support by different partners and donors through the WHO for the response. This includes reactive vaccination, with more than 1.7 million persons vaccinated with two doses each of Oral Cholera Vaccination (OCV) in Bauchi, Jigawa, Yobe, and Zamfara states.

“We believe that the recently approved GTFCC application for Nigeria will significantly mitigate the risk of and upsurge of cholera cases during this rainy season.

“The application covers approximately nine million doses of OCV to implement two campaigns in 14 local government areas in nine states and the FCT,’’ Mr Mulombo said.

He stressed the need for speedy shipment and allocation of the vaccines to ensure early vaccination.

The WHO representative said Nigeria had demonstrated the capacity to implement vaccinations in difficult settings like insecurity, as experienced in two local government areas in Zamfara.

Mr Mulombo challenged Nigeria to seize all opportunities for vaccination in specific target areas with zero doses and ensure that often-missed children were offered OCV and all routine vaccinations.

He said this was necessary so that the country would meet the global target of ending cholera by 2030.

(NAN)