Preventative cholera vaccination is resuming after a four-year halt, the World Health Organization said on Feb. 4.
Mozambique will be the first country to restart the vaccination, with additional countries planning to resume vaccination campaigns.
Cholera, spread through contaminated food and water, causes symptoms such as severe diarrhea and dehydration and can be fatal if left untreated.
The bacterial disease began to surge in some countries in 2021, bringing an increase in demand for cholera vaccines and a halt in 2022 of preventative cholera vaccination.
“Global vaccine shortages forced us into a cycle of reacting to cholera outbreaks instead of preventing them,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the World Health Organization’s director-general, said in a statement. “We are now in a stronger position to break that cycle.”
He credited EUBiologics, which manufactures many cholera shots.
Cholera outbreaks are currently ongoing in Mozambique, which is dealing with conditions brought about by widespread floods, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, among other nations. Bangladesh dealt with an outbreak in 2025.
Last year, more than 600,000 cases of cholera or acute diarrhea, and nearly 7,600 deaths, were reported to the World Health Organization.
The resumption of the campaign will see Mozambique receive 3.6 million doses, Congo receive 6.1 million doses, and Bangladesh receive 10.3 million doses.
Officials chose those countries based on criteria laid out by the Global Task Force for Cholera Control.
Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, is paying for the vaccines while the United Nations Children’s Fund is going to deliver them.
“The multi-year surge in cholera cases and resulting unprecedented demand for vaccines were stark reminders that sustainable, accessible vaccine supply is a global public good—and the world cannot afford complacency,” Dr. Sania Nishtar, Gavi’s CEO, said in a statement.
“For the first time in years, this increase in vaccines will allow us to better prevent large-scale cholera emergencies,” said Catherine Russell, executive director of the United Nations Children’s Fund. “Resuming preventive cholera vaccination will protect children and help stop this highly contagious disease in its tracks. But it must go hand in hand with other efforts, including better access to safe water and basic sanitation.”
The oral cholera vaccine is recommended for ages 1 and older. One dose is estimated to provide protection for at least six months. A second dose boosts that period of shielding to about three years.
Because the global vaccine supply is still replenishing, officials will vaccinate with only one dose per person, although they will consider a second dose on a case-by-case basis.
