Mikati chairs cholera control meeting at the Grand Serail

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati held Friday at the Grand Serail a meeting on cholera control with the ambassadors of donor countries and international organizations.

The caretaker ministers of health, interior and energy, the ambassadors of donor countries to Lebanon and representatives of the World Bank, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Development Program, and UNICEF attended the meeting.

The meeting discussed the required measures to limit the spread and how donor and friendly countries can help Lebanon to implement these measures, caretaker Health Minister Firas Abiad said.

Lebanon's first cholera outbreak in decades began earlier this month after the virulent disease spread from neighboring Syria.

Since last month, Lebanon has reported 2,421 cases and 18 deaths. About a quarter of these cases are children under the age of five. The Vibrio cholerae bacteria has been found in drinking-water, sewer systems, and irrigation water.

The country hosts more than a million Syrian refugees. Most cases of cholera have been detected in refugee camps, Lebanon's Health Ministry says.

U.N. aid agencies started providing clean water for the camps, disinfecting walls and doors and holding information sessions. They're also donating fuel to the Lebanese government so that authorities can pump water again.

The WHO said it has helped the cash-strapped country secure 600,000 vaccine doses, and efforts to secure more are "ongoing given the rapid spread of the outbreak".

France has also donated more than 13,000 vaccine doses, and Lebanon will successively receive more donations, Abiad said.