The worst cholera outbreaks in 20 years are highlighting the dire shortage of vaccine supplies and the problems of vaccine inequity and manufacturing. Jane Feinmann reports It’s nearly 18 months since the World Health Organization (WHO) raised cholera to its highest health emergency level, grade 3, in January 2023 after recording the deadliest outbreaks for 20 years in 23 countries. At a press conference two months later (March 2023), Philippe Barboza, WHO’s cholera lead and head of the Global Task Force on Cholera Control, warned that one billion people were at risk of dying from a preventable disease. Alongside “limited progress” in improving access to safe water and sanitation for the world’s poorest people, Barboza laid the blame for the crisis on the shortage of oral cholera vaccines at a time of unprecedented demand. He called for a change in the way that cholera vaccine manufacturers are supported to produce larger quantities with less financial risk.1 “It shouldn’t be that comp

The worst cholera outbreaks in 20 years are highlighting the dire shortage of vaccine supplies and the problems of vaccine inequity and manufacturing. Jane Feinmann reports It’s nearly 18 months since the World Health Organization (WHO) raised cholera to its highest health emergency level, grade 3, in January 2023 after recording the deadliest outbreaks for 20 years in 23 countries. At a press conference two months later (March 2023), Philippe Barboza, WHO’s cholera lead and head of the Global Task Force on Cholera Control, warned that one billion people were at risk of dying from a preventable disease. Alongside “limited progress” in improving access to safe water and sanitation for the world’s poorest people, Barboza laid the blame for the crisis on the shortage of oral cholera vaccines at a time of unprecedented demand. He called for a change in the way that cholera vaccine manufacturers are supported to produce larger quantities with less financial risk.1 “It shouldn’t be that comp