600 000 doses of cholera vaccine arrive in Lebanon amidst evolving outbreak

Beirut, 10 November 2022 – World Health Organization (WHO) has supported the Minister of Public Health of Lebanon to secure a critical shipment of 600 000 doses of cholera vaccine from the International Coordination Group (ICG) managing the global supply of cholera vaccines.

The vaccines were delivered to the Ministry of Public Health’s Central Drug Warehouse for use during a vaccination campaign to be launched on Saturday, 12 November 2022. The campaign will target all refugees and host communities aged 1 year and above, aiming to reach 70% of the target population with a weekly target of administering 200 000 doses over the coming three weeks.

WHO requires US$ 10.2 million to respond to the rapid cholera outbreak in Lebanon

05 November 2022: The World Health Organization (WHO) requires US$ 10.2 million for the health-related response to the ongoing cholera outbreak in Lebanon. As of 3 November 2022, the country has reported 2421 suspected cases, including 413 confirmed cases and 18 associated deaths. The outbreak continues to spread to new communities every day as a result of contaminated water at source, community and household levels.

“Lebanon is vulnerable to cholera, and this is being aggravated by the prolonged economic situation and scarce access to clean water and proper sanitation services across the country," says Dr Abdinasir Abubakar, WHO Representative in Lebanon. “We need concerted efforts to ensure that people have access to health services, clean water and sanitation, and to educate them on how to deal with cholera if anyone becomes infected.”

The health care system in Lebanon is already strained due to the current economic and social crises, and the cholera outbreak may overwhelm the already fragile health system in the country. There are many challenges in responding to the cholera outbreak, and WHO and other partners are making extra efforts to overcome these in order to control the outbreak in a timely manner. WHO’s priority is to limit the spread of the cholera outbreak, while minimizing the morbidity and mortality associated with cholera through good quality health care.