UNITED NATIONS
\nThe UN World Health Organization (WHO) has announced a spike in cholera in several regions of the world, with almost 195,000 cases and over 1,900 deaths reported in 24 countries since the start of this year.
\nThe agency\u2019s Eastern Mediterranean Region reported the highest number of cases, followed by the African Region, the Region of the Americas, the Southeast Asia Region, and the European Region.There were no reported cases in the Western Pacific Region, it said in a bulletin.
\nThe UN health agency said it exhausted its global stockpile of Oral Cholera Vaccines (OCV) by March but was able to exceed \u201cthe emergency target of five million doses in early June for the first time in 2024.\u201dYet, the supply of the vaccine does not equate to its demand.
\nWHO reported that since January last year, 16 countries requested 92 million doses of OCV \u2013 almost double the 49 million produced during that time. WHO, the UN Children\u2019s Fund (UNICEF) and other partners are working together to use resources to find long-term solutions for cholera.
\nOn the positive side of health news, WHO announced on Thursday that Chad successfully eradicated \u201csleeping sickness\u201d as a public health problem. The agency applauded the Government and people of Chad for eradicating the gambiense form of human African trypanosomiasis, (also known as sleeping sickness).
\n\u201cI congratulate the government and the people of Chad for this achievement. It is great to see Chad join the growing group of countries that have eliminated at least one neglected tropical disease (NTD),\u201d said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.
\nIn eliminating the disease, Chad joining some 50 others globally that have succeeded in this endeavour. \u201cThe 100-country target is nearer and within reach,\u201d Tedros added, referring to the target set out in the road map for address neglected tropical diseases by 2030.
\n\u201cSleeping sickness can cause flu-like symptoms initially but eventually causing behaviour change, confusion, sleep cycle disturbances or even coma, often leading to death,\u201d it was pointed out. \u201cImproved access to early diagnosis and treatment, as well as surveillance and response has proven that countries can control and eventually eliminate transmission,\u201d Who said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
UNITED NATIONS The UN World Health Organization (WHO) has announced a spike in cholera in several regions of the world, with almost 195,000 cases and over 1,900 deaths reported in 24 countries since the start of this year. The agency\u2019s Eastern Mediterranean Region reported the highest number of cases, followed by the African Region, the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":390741,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-413764","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n