• Funded by Republic of Korea’s Global Disease Eradication Fund (GDEF) and implemented in partnership with Mozambique’s National Institute of Health (INS)

MAPUTO, Mozambique, August 2026 – In one of Mozambique’s most vulnerable cholera hotspots, 200,000 doses of oral cholera vaccine (OCV) were administered, and cholera and diarrheal disease surveillance systems were strengthened across five sentinel health facilities. The project also contributed to the development and roll-out of Mozambique’s National Cholera Plan (NCP), supporting the country’s long-term efforts to prevent and control cholera.

These achievements were highlighted as partners gathered at the closure workshop on 11 August 2026 in Maputo to mark the successful completion of the Enhancing Cholera Control in Mozambique (ECHO-M) project, a six-year initiative led by the International Vaccine Institute (IVI) in partnership with Mozambique’s INS and supported by the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).

Launched in February 2020 through funding from the Republic of Korea’s GDEF, ECHO-M was implemented in Nampula Province, one of Mozambique’s most cholera-affected regions. Building on the foundation established through the Mozambique Cholera Prevention and Surveillance (MOCA) Project, an earlier collaboration among IVI, INS, and KOICA that contributed to strengthening cholera prevention and surveillance capacity in the country, ECHO-M expanded these efforts through vaccination, surveillance, operational research, and capacity building. The project formed part of IVI’s broader Enhancing Cholera Control (ECHO) initiative in Mozambique and Nepal.

Speaking at the closure workshop, Ms. Ah-Young Jo, KOICA’s Country Director for Mozambique, said: “Our shared journey with INS and IVI began in 2017 with our first joint cholera control initiative and continued through the ECHO project from 2020. Throughout this partnership, our mission has remained resolute: to empower Mozambique’s national roadmap toward cholera elimination by laying the foundation for sustainable, evidence-based public health capacities. Although the ECHO-M project is officially drawing to a close, KOICA’s vision for sustainable health and human security in Mozambique remains firm.”

A landmark vaccination campaign reached 100,000 people

One of the project’s most significant milestones was a two-dose preventive OCV campaign conducted in Meconta District, Nampula Province, in November 2025. The campaign targeted approximately 100,000 residents aged one year and older in Namialo Administrative Post, an area considered highly vulnerable to cholera outbreaks.

The first vaccination round, held from 6 to 10 November 2025, reached 99,583 people, achieving 99.6% coverage of the target population. A second round followed from 20 to 24 November, with a total of 200,000 vaccine doses administered across both rounds. Vaccination teams employed fixed-site, outreach, and door-to-door strategies to maximize coverage and access.

The campaign used Euvichol-S, an OCV produced by EuBiologics that was developed through technology transferred from IVI and subsequently achieved World Health Organization (WHO) prequalification. The campaign also demonstrated the importance of community and government engagement. Provincial and district health authorities worked alongside local leaders, teachers, religious representatives, health workers, and community influencers, who participated in awareness activities designed to build trust and encourage vaccination uptake. Field teams worked closely with residents throughout the campaign, contributing to its broad reach and successful implementation.

Beyond vaccination, ECHO-M strengthened cholera and diarrheal disease surveillance through five sentinel health facilities and laboratories in Nampula Province. The project supported early detection, rapid diagnostic testing (RDT), laboratory diagnosis, and outbreak monitoring, while building the capacity of local facilities to conduct standardized surveillance and testing. ECHO-M also conducted a community survey to identify cholera risk factors by assessing household demographic and socioeconomic conditions, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and food-handling practices, health-seeking behavior and health service utilization, as well as a cost of illness study.  Findings from these activities contributed to the development of Mozambique’s NCP and generated evidence to guide future prevention and outbreak response efforts.

Closure workshop highlights lessons and lasting impact

Dr. Se Eun Park, Study Principal Investigator at IVI,  Adjunct Professor at the Yonsei University Graduate School of Public Health, and Senior Advisor at the Korea Africa Foundation, said, “ECHO-M contributed to cholera elimination efforts under the Global Task Force on Cholera Control (GTFCC)’s Ending Cholera: A Global Roadmap to 2030 through OCV vaccination, strengthened surveillance and early detection, investigations on cholera-specific socioeconomic risk factors and health-seeking behavior at the community level, and support for the Mozambique government’s multi-year and multisectoral cholera control roadmap (NCP) development and roll-out.”

Although ECHO-M will officially conclude in September 2026, the project’s legacy is expected to continue through stronger surveillance systems, enhanced local capacity, improved preparedness, and stronger partnerships supporting Mozambique’s efforts to prevent and control cholera in the years ahead.

Dr. José Paulo Langa, Site Co-Principal Investigator and Head/Lead of Enteric Disease Program at INS, said, “ECHO-M strengthened early detection, preparedness, and rapid response, while making a significant contribution to the development of Mozambique’s NCP, including OCV planning and the Gavi application process. The official launch of the NCP at the 79th World Health Assembly (WHA) in Geneva on 22 May 2026 marked a major milestone toward cholera elimination and laid the foundation for institutionalizing these approaches within the national health system and sustaining long-term cholera prevention and control.”

Dr. Julia Lynch, Grant Principal Investigator and Senior Director of IVI’s Cholera Program, said, “ECHO-M represents a strong and lasting partnership among KOICA, INS, and IVI. The project has laid important foundations for continued collaboration and sustainable cholera prevention and control in Mozambique.”

Following the ECHO-M Closure Workshop, the IVI delegation led by Dr. Se Eun Park and her team conducted follow-up visits and meetings with key stakeholders, including the Ministry of Health, WHO, UNICEF, the U.S. CDC, and the Manhiça Health Research Centre (CISM), to share ECHO-M achievements and explore opportunities to sustain its impact on cholera elimination in Mozambique, as well as potential areas of further collaboration in vaccine research and policy engagement.