Image: News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)
Abuja (UNA-OIC) – The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) is to submit a cholera vaccination request to the International Coordinating Group (ICG) and the Global Task Force for Cholera Control (GTFCC).
NCDC Director-General Dr Chike Ihekweazu told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) here on Tuesday that the centre will also submit the request to the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA).
Ihekweazu noted with concern that deaths arising from Cholera had risen to 1,768 as of August 15. He said that 47,603 suspected cases had also been reported from 23 states since the beginning of 2021.
The ICG was established in 1997, following major outbreaks of meningitis in Africa, as a mechanism to manage and coordinate the provision of emergency vaccine supplies and antibiotics to countries during major outbreaks.
Since 2013, the ICG for Cholera manages the global stockpile of oral cholera vaccine, which was created as an additional tool to help control cholera epidemics. It works closely with vaccine producers, through the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and following disease trends.
