Ethiopia is to administer anti-cholera vaccines to 2 million residents of the east African country’s northern Tigray regional state, an Ethiopian official said on Saturday.
Speaking to state media outlets, Fasika Amdeselassie, Health Bureau Chief of Tigray Region Interim Administration, said two million people living in 13 cities in the region will receive two rounds of anti-cholera vaccines starting next week.
Amdeselassie told the media that the anti-cholera vaccination campaign which will start next Thursday and is expected to continue for up to two weeks will target in particular the estimated 2 million Internally Displaced Persons living in Tigray region.
“With many people who live outside the Tigray regional capital, Mekelle, drinking river water, the risks of cholera outbreak are substantial,” he was quoted as saying.
“To counter this health threat, the Tigray interim administration plans to vaccinate millions of residents of Tigray region, with medicines provided by the World Health Organization,” Amdeselassie added.
With the rainy season expected to start in mid-June and continue until mid-September, the Ethiopian government is bracing for an outbreak of cholera across the country and is doing preparatory works to prevent the disease’s occurrence.
