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DRC Cholera Crisis: 1,800 Dead Amid Ebola Outbreak
5 Nov
Summary
- Around 1,800 deaths recorded from cholera this year in DRC.
- Over 60,000 cholera cases reported in the nation's worst outbreak.
- Cholera spreading along the Congo River towards the capital Kinshasa.
The Democratic Republic of Congo is confronting a severe cholera epidemic, with around 1,800 fatalities reported this year. This diarrhoeal disease has affected approximately 60,000 people, marking what the World Health Organization describes as the nation's "worst cholera outbreak in decades." The majority of infections are concentrated in the eastern provinces of North and South Kivu, regions already destabilized by armed conflict.
Compounding the crisis, cholera is now spreading along the Congo River basin, posing a significant threat to the capital city, Kinshasa. Access to remote areas, hampered by ongoing conflict and the current rainy season, complicates response efforts for both cholera and the concurrent Ebola epidemic. The WHO highlights that the high mortality rate, around three percent, underscores the severity of the cholera situation.
