1m Rohingyas being vaccinated against cholera

A massive cholera vaccination campaign has begun at Rohingya camps in Bangladesh to prevent any potential outbreak during the ongoing monsoon season.

The vaccination campaign will be conducted among both the one million Rohingyas who fled persecution in their homeland of Myanmar and took refuge in Bangladesh and local people living in and around the refugee camps in the hilly districts, said a press communiqué of WHO on Sunday.

This is a second cholera vaccination campaign being held for the Rohingyas and their host communities.

“Considering the water and sanitation conditions in the overcrowded camps and increased risk of disease outbreaks in the monsoon season, the health sector is taking all possible measures to prevent cholera and other water and vector borne diseases,” said Bardan Jung Rana, WHO representative in Bangladesh.

As many as 245 mobile vaccination teams have been deployed to vaccinate all people in and around the refugee camps.

The nearly week-long campaign will be led by the health and family welfare ministry, with support of World Health Organization, UNICEF and icddr,b and other partners.

Edouard Beigbeder, UNICEF representative in Bangladesh said, “We’ve managed to prevent the cholera outbreak since the first campaign in October last year, but flood water, heavy storms and landslides in the monsoon season could damage water and sanitation facilities in the camps, increasing the risk again of an outbreak of this dangerous disease.”

The oral cholera vaccines have been made available through the Inter-Agency Coordinating Group with members from WHO, UNICEF, Médecins sans Frontières and International Federation of the Red Cross. The vaccines and supplies are financed by Gavi, the vaccine alliance.

“This vaccination campaign is a part of the ongoing efforts of the government and the health sector partners to protect nearly one million people, including at least 135,000 Bangladeshis, who have been affected by the influx since last year,” said professor Abul Kalam Azad, director general of health services (DGHS), health and family welfare ministry and Bangladesh government.