Addressing cholera with an 'integrated approach' in 2013

Jan 16 2013

"There has been so much news related to cholera and cholera research since the start of 2013 I can only hope it means this year will be a banner year for prevention efforts," Helen Matzger, a program officer in new vaccine delivery at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, writes in the foundation's "Impatient Optimists" blog. She summarizes several recent articles covering cholera and asks, "How do we as a concerned community about this disease come together to work on an integrated approach to cholera control ... ? Where are the billions of dollars in funding? Perhaps most importantly, how does the cholera community work to increase the international and national level political will to work on a disease that almost solely affects the poorest of the poor?" Matzger continues, "These are hard questions and ones that I think about often. There are, however, hopeful signs that cholera is something a lot of other people are thinking more often about too. And we can all hope this collective thinking will lead to true action that benefits those at risk for cholera." She summarizes several initiatives working to fight cholera (1/14).