The World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF handed over 1.1 million doses of cholera vaccines on Thursday to the Chadian government, an official announced.
The vaccines are expected to help curb the spread of the disease in the Central African country as the death toll mounts.
The cholera epidemic, a bacterial infection caused by consuming contaminated water or food, was declared on July 13, has killed 75 people in eastern Chad, according to statistics released Wednesday by health officials.
Mahamat Hamit Ahmat, Deputy General Secretary in the Ministry of Public Health and Prevention, told reporters the vaccines will help fight a cholera outbreak in Sila and Ouaddai provinces and prevent new cases.
Ahmat said a vaccination campaign will be conducted from September 2 to 8 in five health districts in the east of the country.
Fast-spreading disease
Cholera has swept through several African nations including Sudan, Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of Congo exacerbated by climate-related flooding.
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and World Health Organization on Tuesday unveiled a continental cholera emergency preparedness and response plan for the period September 2025 to February 2026.
The agencies say the model aims to achieve rapid domestic resource mobilisation to fund vaccines and case management supplies to combat current outbreaks.
This will help the continent's 54 member states reduce cholera deaths by 90% and eradicate cholera in at least 20 countries by 2030.
Cholera plan
Hakainde Hichilema, the African Union's (AU) global and continental cholera champion and Zambia's president, launched the plan, saying eradicating cholera on the continent is not only a health goal but also a moral imperative, a catalyst for economic growth, and a critical step toward achieving the AU's Agenda 2063.
"To succeed, we must act today for a better tomorrow, building a self-reliant Africa that produces its own vaccines and secures its future," Hichilema said.
There has been an alarming rise in cholera cases across the continent, affecting 23 countries.
At least 213,586 cases and 4,507 deaths have been recorded in 2025 alone, underscoring the urgency of the response, said Africa CDC Director General Jean Kaseya.
