GENEVA: The World Health Organisation’s emergencies chief says the agency could have acted faster and sent more vaccines to fight a massive, deadly surge of cholera cases in war-battered Yemen this year.
Dr Peter Salama still expressed optimism that “we are turning (the) corner” on the preventable, water-borne disease that has topped 700,000 suspected cases and caused more than 2,000 deaths this year.
Salama spoke to reporters Tuesday as the UN agency and its partners laid out ambitious projects to reduce the number of annual cholera deaths by 90 percent by 2030.
WHO officials announced plans Friday to send 900,000 doses of cholera vaccine to Bangladesh to help stave off a possible outbreak among the Rohingya Muslims who have fled violence targeting them in Myanmar.