Access to vaccines and clean water essential as cholera spreads in Lebanon

MSF
Nov 18, 2022

Access to vaccines and clean water essential as cholera spreads in Lebanon


  • Essential measures including access to vaccination and safe drinking water needed to curb the spread of cholera in Lebanon.
  • Amid the rapid increase of cases in Lebanon, MSF and the Ministry of Public Health have begun vaccinations against the disease. 

Nineteen people have died from cholera in Lebanon since 6 October, when the country recorded its first cholera case in almost three decades. The number of confirmed and suspected cases has risen to 3,671 in the country as of 16 November, 2022.

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is contributing to the national vaccination campaign against cholera launched by the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health, by vaccinating people in Arsal, Akkar, Tripoli and Baalbak-Hermel, in the north and northeast of Lebanon, where most cholera cases are registered in the country. 

“To be able to effectively curb the outbreak, it is crucial to enhance cholera prevention measures, of which vaccination is one of the critical elements,” says Marcelo Fernandez, MSF head of mission in Lebanon.