Only around 39% of people in Bangladesh have access to safely managed drinking water, leaving densely populated communities particularly vulnerable to cholera, according to the World Health Organization.
While 98.6% of the population has access to basic drinking-water services, the proportion with safely managed water remains far lower, WHO said in an update on Bangladesh’s preventive oral cholera vaccination campaign.
The campaign is targeting more than 5.17 million people aged one year and above across seven urban thanas and seven upazilas identified as being at greater risk.
The first round ran from August 22 to September 21, reaching 82.2% of the targeted population nationally.
A second dose is being administered from September 26 to October 25.
The campaign is led by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare with support from WHO, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, UNICEF, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, and icddr,b.
WHO said vaccination is part of a broader strategy to eliminate cholera as a public health threat by 2030, alongside improved surveillance and greater access to safe water and sanitation.
WHO highlighted Kamrangirchar in southwest Dhaka as one of the communities where limited access to safe water increases cholera risks.
Around 600,000 people, including long-term residents and internal migrants, live in the densely populated neighbourhood.
Kamrangirchar is one of the seven urban thanas included in the vaccination campaign.
By the end of the first round on September 21, 80.8% of its target population had received the vaccine, compared with 82.2% nationally, according to WHO.
Around 65 fixed and mobile vaccination centres have been operating across Kamrangirchar, including at schools and other community locations, with the area's 31-bed hospital serving as a hub.
“The best time to stop cholera is before people get sick,” said Dr Rezaul Hossain, WHO Surveillance and Immunization Medical Officer in Dhaka South City Corporation.
“We know where the risks are greatest, and what makes people vulnerable.”
He said reaching eight out of every 10 targeted people in Kamrangirchar had increased protection, but warned that significant gaps remained.
“In a community where people live close together and access to safe water can be difficult, that protection matters,” Hossain said.
“But there are still people we need to reach, and our work is not finished.”
WHO said vaccination teams have used schools, mosques and other community networks to encourage participation.
Imam Md Faiz Ahmed, who leads prayers at the Kamrangirchar hospital mosque, has promoted the vaccination campaign among worshippers, madrassa students and residents and visited other mosques to spread the message.
“I tell people that they should take the vaccine to prevent cholera, and that it will only be available during the campaign,” WHO quoted him as saying.
“I ask them to also take their children so they can be protected.”
WHO also documented residents returning with their families for vaccination.
Habib, a 30-year-old jute-bag seller, received his first oral cholera vaccine dose after hearing about the campaign through neighbours whose children had learned about it from teachers.
His eight-month-old daughter, Humira, was too young for the oral cholera vaccine and instead received a measles-rubella vaccination.
Another resident, 27-year-old Chameli, received the cholera vaccine with her youngest child after recently being treated at the hospital for diarrhoea and stomach pain. Her eldest child had already been vaccinated.
WHO Representative to Bangladesh Dr Ahmed Jamsheed Mohamed said the first-round coverage demonstrated the reach possible through coordination between the government, communities and development partners.
“The challenge now is to carry that same determination through the next round of the campaign and beyond,” he said.
He stressed the need to strengthen disease surveillance, expand access to safe water and sanitation, and continue reaching communities facing the greatest risks.
The second-round vaccination campaign will continue through October 25.
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