Somalia cholera outbreak kills 134 as cases rise

MOGHADISHU:

A total of 16,231 new cholera cases and 134 related deaths have been reported in Somalia since January this year, with cases spreading due to recent prolonged rains and flash floods, the government said on Monday.

The Department of Health and Human Services said 10,273 cases, or 63 percent of the total, were classified as serious.

“Unfortunately, 134 deaths were recorded during this reporting period, highlighting the severity of the epidemic,” the ministry said in a statement issued in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia.

The ministry also attributed the increasing cases of cholera in Somalia to a growing number of people who do not have access to safe water and proper sanitation.

Many regions in Somalia have been severely affected by the cholera outbreak, with Kismayo district recording the highest number of cases, accounting for 2,567 cases, or 16 percent of all cases, the ministry said, noting that these statistics underscore the geographic distribution of the epidemic and the urgent need for targeted interventions in these high-risk areas.

“In response to a cholera outbreak, a comprehensive oral cholera vaccination campaign was implemented, targeting a total of 920,913 people in various heat-affected areas,” the ministry said.

The campaign, which targets three age groups — children aged 14, people aged 5-15 and people over 15 — successfully vaccinated 895,680 people, achieving an overall coverage rate of 97 percent, according to the ministry.

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Somalia has had uninterrupted AWD (acute watery diarrhoea)/cholera transmission since 2022 and the Banadir region since the 2017 drought, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

The WHO said Somalia is experiencing a cholera outbreak that has intensified after floods, caused by heavy rains in December 2023, destroyed sanitation facilities and caused further displacement.

In 2023, more than 18,304 cumulative cholera cases were reported in Somalia and 46 deaths, more than half of which were children under the age of five.