The World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Somali government have launched cholera vaccination campaigns targeting 460,000 people in the drought-stricken country, where a diarrhoea outbreak has killed 618 people so far this year.
According to a statement by the WHO, 31,674 cases of cholera has been registered.
The WHO said a vaccination campaign targeting 224,000 people was launched in Baidoa in the south-west.
The UN organisation also added that a concurrent vaccination campaign is targeting 239,000 people in the south-eastern Middle Shebelle region.
Other campaigns, the WHO added have been implemented in other high-risk areas.
The cholera outbreak is attributed largely to the drought hitting the Horn of Africa country, where more than six million people face food insecurity.
“Lack of access to clean water and hygiene, food insecurity and malnutrition caused by drought has increased cases of cholera,” the WHO said.
Cholera is an acute diarrhoeal infection caused by ingestion of contaminated food or water.
