March 2023: Earthquake-hit areas of northwest Syria were the focus of an immunization campaign against cholera

Earthquake-hit areas of northwest Syria were the focus of an immunization campaign against cholera March 7-17, targeting 1.7 million people above age 1. The 10-day campaign prioritized areas at the highest risk of the disease, such as the Atmeh, Dana, Maaret Tamsrin and Sarmada districts in Idleb and the A’zaz district in northern Aleppo. Oral cholera vaccine was administered by 1,400 teams of health workers, while community volunteers administered doses door to door and visited camps, markets and school sites to ensure displaced people were reached. Additionally, over 62,000 people in affected areas of Aleppo and Hama received emergency cash assistance to support basic needs such as house repairs and rent. Over 50,000 suspected cholera cases have been reported in Aleppo and Idlib since the outbreak was first declared in September 2022. As of March 13, the campaign had reached 1.2 million people. WHO EMRO; ReliefWeb