Speech of the WHO Representative to Bangladesh, Dr Ahmed Jamsheed Mohamed, at the National Launch of the Preventive Oral Cholera Vaccination Campaign 2026, Nagar Bhaban Auditorium, Dhaka South City Corporation, Dhaka.
His Excellency, Sardar Md Sakhawat Hossain, Hon’ble Minister, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare;
Prof. Dr. Prabhat Chandra Biswas, Director General, Directorate General of Health Services;
Ms Sheikh Momena Moni, Additional Secretary, Health Services Division, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare;
Ms. Gillian Mellsop, Representative ad interim, UNICEF in Bangladesh;
Dr Firdausi Qadri, Senior Scientist, icddr,b;
Md. Habibur Rahman Khan, Secretary General, IFRC, Bangladesh;
Dr. Md. Halimur Rashid, Director, Disease Control;
Distinguished government officials, partners and friends,
It is an honour to join you today for the launch of Bangladesh’s Preventive Oral Cholera Vaccination Campaign 2026.
I thank the Government of Bangladesh and all partners who have made this campaign possible.
Today is about vaccination. But it is also about something larger: acting before people become sick, protecting those most at risk, and using evidence to prevent disease rather than waiting to respond to it.
Cholera is preventable and treatable. And yet it continues to claim far too many lives.
WHO estimates that 2.9 million cases occur each year in endemic countries, causing approximately 95 000 deaths. Around 1.3 billion people remain at risk, with much of the burden concentrated in Africa and South Asia.
But cholera is not only a disease. It is also a sign of inequity.
It thrives where people lack safe water and sanitation; where overcrowding and population movement increase vulnerability; and where climate and environmental pressures compound existing risks.
That is why controlling cholera is both a public health imperative and a development imperative.
Bangladesh knows this well. It also knows what works.
For decades, Bangladesh has been at the forefront of cholera surveillance, research, innovation and control. The knowledge and experience developed here have helped shape the global response to this disease.
Today, Bangladesh is putting that experience into action once again.
The campaign is built on a simple principle: protection should go first to those at greatest risk.
Based on a rigorous assessment of disease burden, vulnerability, population density, previous vaccination and transmission risk, 14 priority City Corporation areas and upazilas have been identified.
Approximately 5.17 million people aged one year and above will be offered two doses of oral cholera vaccine.
More than 10.35 million doses have been secured.
The scale is significant. But vaccines alone cannot stop cholera.
Sustainable control rests on three pillars: detecting outbreaks early and responding rapidly; using oral cholera vaccines strategically; and investing for the long term in safe water, sanitation and hygiene.
That means strengthening surveillance. Ensuring rapid diagnosis and treatment. Improving water and sanitation. Promoting good hygiene. And, above all, engaging communities as partners in their own health.
Because the campaign’s success will ultimately be determined in communities.
Health workers, vaccinators, supervisors and volunteers will carry this campaign from plans on paper to protection for millions of people.
Local government representatives, teachers, religious leaders and other trusted voices can build confidence and encourage participation.
The media can help people distinguish fact from misinformation.
And communities themselves can help raise awareness and ensure mutual protection.
My message to everyone eligible for vaccination is simple: receive both doses. Protect yourself. Protect your family. Protect your community.
Our immediate objective is to protect more than five million people at greatest risk.
Our longer-term objective is to achieve a Bangladesh in which no one becomes sick or dies from cholera because of where they live or the water they drink.
That is the future we must work towards; a future that WHO will continue to support.
Thank you.