Donors and governments need to invest more in vaccines against cholera, the WHO said, as the latest data show an increase in deaths from the preventable disease.
Despite the fact that a new oral cholera vaccine – Euvichol-S – was given early approval at the start of 2024, supply constraints continued to outstrip demand in 2024, and into 2025, the organisation said.
The International Vaccine Institute (IVI), which developed the vaccine in partnership with EuBiologics in the Republic of Korea, said more manufacturers needed to enter the market.
“We need more manufacturers on the marketplace to expand production capacity and increase the global supply,” said Julia Lynch, Director of IVI’s Cholera Program.
To help establish another manufacturer or oral cholera vaccines, IVI entered a new technology and licensing transfer agreement with South Africa’s Biovac in 2022, with funding support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Wellcome.
According to the latest WHO cholera report, conflict, climate change, population displacement, and long-term deficiencies in water, sanitation, and hygiene infrastructure continue to fuel the rise of the disease.
Last year, reported cholera cases rose by five pct and deaths by 50 pct compared to 2023, with more than 6,000 people dying from the water-borne diarrheal infection.
