The World Health Organization (WHO) and King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief) have signed a 5.3-million-dollar agreement to strengthen cholera preparedness and response across the Lake Chad Basin region.
Dr Mohamed Janabi, WHO Regional Director for Africa, said this on X Monday, saying the agreement was signed on the margins of the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA81) in New York.
Janabi said the initiative would support cholera preparedness and response activities in Cameroon, Chad, Mali, Niger and Nigeria, while strengthening coordination among health authorities across the five countries in the region.
He said the partnership would strengthen early detection of cholera outbreaks, enhance rapid response measures, and improve access to life-saving treatment for affected populations across supported areas during outbreaks and emergencies.
The initiative is expected to help protect more than six million people across the five countries, according to Janabi, by improving preparedness, surveillance, detection and coordinated outbreak response systems and capacities.
The WHO Regional Director said strengthening preparedness and response capacities remained essential to reducing the impact of cholera outbreaks in vulnerable communities across the affected countries and strengthening local health systems.
He said the partnership would help countries detect outbreaks earlier and respond more effectively, while improving coordination and supporting timely public-health interventions across borders where cholera risks remained high for communities.
Janabi expressed appreciation to KSrelief for its continued support for health and vulnerable populations across the WHO African Region, saying the partnership would continue to strengthen regional health cooperation and resilience.
He said WHO looked forward to building on its partnership with KSrelief to advance the goal of health for all and support countries in strengthening sustainable outbreak preparedness and response systems.
The agreement comes as countries in the Lake Chad Basin continue strengthening their capacity to prevent, detect and respond to cholera and other public-health threats affecting vulnerable communities across the region.
The initiative would focus on strengthening systems that enable health authorities to identify suspected outbreaks and initiate timely response measures, improving surveillance and coordination between national and local responders where needed.
He said it would also support efforts to ensure people affected by cholera could access appropriate and potentially life-saving treatment, particularly during outbreaks when rapid care was critical.
“Cholera is an acute diarrhoeal disease that can cause severe dehydration and death if untreated, but timely treatment and effective public-health measures can significantly reduce fatalities,” he said.
The WHO-KSrelief partnership is therefore expected to contribute to stronger preparedness and faster response to cholera outbreaks, while helping health authorities improve surveillance, coordination and access to treatment across supported countries.(NAN)
