More than 60,000 people have contracted cholera in the Democratic Republic of Congo since the start of the year, and 1,800 have died in what World Health Organisation Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called the country’s “worst cholera outbreak in decades.”
The eastern provinces of North and South Kivu have suffered the heaviest impact, while violence and insecurity have complicated efforts to slow transmission. With the rainy season under way, health officials are increasingly concerned that the disease could reach Kinshasa, the densely populated capital. Experts have pointed to inadequate access to clean water and sanitation, urging expanded prevention measures, improved water systems and vaccination campaigns.
Doctors Without Borders has stepped up its response, delivering medical care, safe drinking water and sanitation assistance to affected communities, the agency said. Yet insecurity, weak infrastructure and limited access to health services continue to obstruct efforts to bring the outbreak under control.
