In Chad, MSF has supported the Ministry of Public Health in responding to an outbreak of diphtheria, a vaccine-preventable disease. This follows a worrying resurgence of the disease in West Africa spurred by a drop in vaccination coverage.

Between July and December 2024, more than 800 suspected cases were reported in Chad’s central Batha and Barh-El-Gazel regions after cases had begun emerging in March. To prevent further spread of the disease, MSF’s emergency response team supported a targeted vaccination campaign of around 500,000 people, including isolated pockets of nomadic populations. It has also been providing care for cases of diphtheria in the regional hospitals and raising awareness at the community level about preventing the disease.

Diphtheria – the symptoms of which include swelling of the neck, difficulty breathing and fever – is caused by a bacterium that secretes a highly dangerous toxin. In the most serious cases it can lead to multiple organ failure and death, especially in cases of children with comorbidities. Typical early signs of the disease include the formation of a thick, gray membrane in the throat that can block the airways and make it hard to breathe, as well as swelling of the neck (often called “bull neck”). In the most severe cases, diphtheria can cause multiorgan damage leading to death.

To prevent the ongoing outbreaks from spreading, and new outbreaks from starting, there was an urgent need to respond to this emergency through a rapid vaccination campaign. In the longer term however, it is crucial to guarantee systemic vaccination coverage for children, as well as to raise awareness in communities about the importance of attending vaccinations.

In 2023, MSF began alerting on the worrying resurgence of diphtheria in West Africa as a whole. Protection against diphtheria is normally offered through routine vaccination programmes. However, in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccination programmes in many countries have suffered greatly from underfunding and de-prioritisation.