Democratic Republic of the Congo Worst cholera outbreak for 25 years in Congo
The worst cholera outbreak in a quarter of a century has infected more than 64,000 people in the Democratic Republic of Congo since the beginning of the year. At least 1,888 people have died, including 340 children, according to the UN Children's Fund Unicef. The infectious disease, which can lead to severe diarrhea and life-threatening dehydration, is actually treatable.
08.12.2025, 17:18
SDA
The disease is occurring in 17 of the country's 26 provinces, including the capital Kinshasa, it added. An outbreak in a children's home in Kinshasa, where 16 out of 62 children died within a few days, was particularly shocking. According to the figures, children make up just under a quarter of cholera patients in the huge Central African country, and the proportion is significantly higher in individual provinces.
Less than one in six has access to toilets or latrines
The disease is mainly fueled by a lack of access to clean drinking water and sanitary facilities. According to a recent study, only 43 percent of the approximately 110 million inhabitants of the DR Congo have access to at least a basic water supply. Only 15 percent have access to sanitary facilities. This is the lowest figure in Africa.
Conflicts, displacement, flooding and uncontrolled urbanization are also exacerbating the situation. In regions with little previous experience of cholera, such as Kinshasa, poor knowledge of the disease and late treatment lead to particularly high mortality rates.
The number of cholera cases is also continuing to rise worldwide. According to the World Health Organization, more than 560,000 cases and more than 7,000 deaths from cholera were reported this year up to the end of October. For the whole of 2024, WHO countries had reported more than 6,000 deaths from cholera, twice as many as in the previous year.
