Aid sources told Reuters that emergency cholera medical supplies for a number of African nations have become mired in a logistical maze because to the Iran war, increasing fears about preparedness ahead of the dangerous rainy season.
Reporters were informed by the World Health Organization and the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC) and Red Crescent Societies that a backlog in Dubai was preventing them from receiving part of their African cholera supplies, compelling them to either purchase replacements or fly them out at a cost that is 70% higher than usual.
Danielle Brouwer of the IFRC stated, “We don’t know if the kits will come in time and it will be more costly and delayed.” Among those impacted are tents for cholera patients in South Sudan and five cholera kits to treat 3,000 people per month meant for Chad, which houses camps for war refugees from Sudan, she continued.
“We’re talking (about) an explosive disease, so a disruption of the supply chain will have dramatic consequences,” stated Lorenzo Pezzoli, team lead for epidemic bacterial infections at WHO.
“If you don’t have the time or the resources to control it in a matter of days or even hours, you would have an extreme contamination.”
According to the IFRC, competition to use alternate overland or aviation routes is causing congestion and skyrocketing expenses as the Strait of Hormuz closes due to Iranian attacks connected to nearly a month of U.S.-Israeli operations.
For thousands of individuals, the kits provide rehydration therapies and chlorine to treat drinking water and sewerage to stop the spread.
Many African nations, including Chad, rely entirely on imports and do not manufacture their own medications. According to one physician, there haven’t been any cholera cases this year yet, but if they do, there won’t be enough medication for more than 100 patients in the eastern province of Ouaddai.
By: Andrews Kwesi Yeboah