Cholera situation report 10 November 2022

UNICEF is supporting the Ministry of Health (MoH) to conduct six rounds of training for 180 health workers on infection prevention and control (IPC) and surveillance. The first training was held in late October and included 30 participants from Homs, Lattakia, and Tartous districts. The second training will be implemented in mid-November for 30 health workers from Dara’a, Sweida and Quneitra districts.

UNICEF procured AWD kits and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) have arrived in Turkiye. To distribute these supplies in northwest Syria (NWS), a distribution plan is being finalised, in coordination with WHO, according to the caseload. UNICEF is also finalizing the plan to support the transportation and management of supplies and the service delivery through two cholera treatment centres (CTCs), and five oral rehydration points.

UNICEF is continuing the provision of an average of 200 m3 of water daily through water trucking to cholera-affected locations in Aleppo’s southern rural areas. In addition, UNICEF provided 300 m3 of water daily to 47 schools in rural Damascus. During the first week of November, UNICEF provided 100 tons of sodium hypochlorite for water treatment to three governorates. Since the beginning of the outbreak, UNICEF distributed more than 2,217 tons of sodium hypochlorite as a cholera prevention measure across the country for several water stations in ten governorates where the free residual chlorine dosage was increased benefiting 15.5 million people nationwide.

In northwest Syria, UNICEF continues to work in coordination with WHO and partners engaged in the establishment of CTCs/CTUs to supply safe water, adequate sanitary infrastructure, and infection prevention and control (IPC)/ personal protective equipment (PPE). UNICEF dispatched WASH supplies including aquatabs and jerrycans and have now reached 254,334 people. UNICEF has procured additional supplies of aquatabs, sodium hypochlorite, soap, cholera preventive communication materials, PPE, and hygiene kits to support at least 500,000 people at the highest risk. Sodium hypochlorite and pool testers have arrived at UNICEF warehouses in Mersin while soap is already delivered inside northwest Syria. Preparation to distribute 100,000 AWD kits in the high-risk areas is currently taking place following the WASH cluster guidelines.

To prevent the spread of acute watery diarrhoea (AWD) in the most affected areas, UNICEF as risk communication and communication engagement (RCCE) lead, continue to coordinate joint UN interagency efforts to scale-up community engagement interventions at national and sub-national level. Training in interpersonal communication skills has been conducted with 136 healthcare workers, 82 case managers, 258 outreach teams, and 411 community leaders. Social and behaviour change teams reached 80,965 people with key lifesaving messages and calls to action through 6,791 community dialogues, and 16,316 door-to-door visits. In addition, 7,221 teachers and 152,216 school children have been equipped with information on cholera prevention in schools.

UNICEF has launched the data collection to assess the process and progress on RCCE interventions, while UNICEF generated social listening report capture social media users’ engagement were predominantly driven by epidemiological updates in October. Social media users projected strong reactions to the news that the Ministry of Education had partnered with UNICEF to launch a health awareness and education campaign in schools. Commenters believed that there is a need to address the lack of water and poor hygiene and cleaning conditions in schools while targeting students through an awareness campaign.

In northwest Syria, close to 50 organizations under the RCCE task force group are conducting awareness sessions in communities. Approximately 5,000 teachers, community health workers, hygiene promoters, and camp managers are being trained in the RCCE activities. Ongoing activities include the development of video testimonies featuring members in the communities, including doctors, mothers, teachers and children promoting cholera preventive measures and awareness.