A billion people in 43 countries are exposed to cholera, warns the UN, noting that while the means to stem “this pandemic of the poor” are well known, the resources to implement them are lacking.

“There is a pandemic that is killing the poor before our eyes and we know exactly how to stop it, but we need more support and less inaction from the international community, because if we don’t act now, the situation will get worse,” warns Jerome Pfaffmann Zabruni, head of UNICEF’s public health emergencies service, during a press conference in Geneva.

“The World Health Organization estimates that one billion people in 43 countries are at risk of cholera,” said his colleague Henry Grayof the World Health Organization, responsible for combating the disease, which spreads when sanitary conditions and drinking water are absent.

Cholera causes diarrhea and vomiting and can be extremely dangerous for young children.

The UN needs $640 million to deal with this infectious disease, but has stated that the longer we wait for an increase in the means of treatment, the worse the situation gets.

According to the World Health Organization, vaccination campaigns face serious obstacles.

So far this year, 24 countries have reported cholera outbreaks, compared to 15 in mid-May 2022.

Countries that are not normally affected by cholera are now victims and the mortality rate is well above the 1% normally observed.

Henry Gray attributes the increase in cases to poverty, climate change and the population movements they cause.

“As the number of countries affected by cholera increases, the resources available for prevention and care are stretched,” he says.

The vaccine is one example: more than 18 million doses were requested this year, but only 8 million were available, forcing vaccination campaigns to stop.

The WHO was forced to recommend a single dose of the vaccine, instead of the required two, resulting in less long-lasting protection.

“The future is dark,” Henry Gray warns.

In total, WHO and UNICEF, which work closely together to fight cholera, need $160 million and $480 million respectively over the next 12 months to operate in more than 40 countries.