A rapidly spreading cholera outbreak in Ethiopia’s Gambella region has resulted in at least 31 deaths and more than 1,500 reported cases in the past month, according to Doctors Without Borders (MSF).
The global medical charity, which has been providing aid in the region, said the situation has worsened with the arrival of refugees fleeing violence in neighboring South Sudan, where thousands are also infected.
MSF highlighted the escalating crisis, noting that cholera is spreading quickly across western Ethiopia, exacerbated by ongoing outbreaks in South Sudan. “Cholera is rapidly spreading across western Ethiopia, and in parallel, the outbreak in South Sudan is ongoing, endangering thousands of lives,” MSF said in a statement on Friday.
Several regions in Ethiopia, including the heavily affected Amhara region, are grappling with cholera outbreaks. Cholera is a bacterial infection spread through contaminated food and water, often of faecal origin, and remains a major health concern across parts of Africa.
In South Sudan’s Akobo County, approximately 1,300 cholera cases have been reported in the past month. MSF attributes the worsening outbreak to recent violence between South Sudanese government forces and armed groups in the Upper Nile region, displacing thousands of people and depriving them of access to healthcare, clean water, and sanitation.
South Sudan, which declared a cholera epidemic in October 2023, continues to struggle with chronic instability and poverty, making the cholera outbreak even more difficult to control. In response, MSF is providing lifesaving care in both countries, delivering clean water and raising awareness about the disease in Ethiopia, while focusing on emergency care in South Sudan.
The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that cholera cases have risen globally, with nearly 4,000 deaths in 2023, marking a 71% increase from the previous year, primarily in Africa. MSF has called for urgent support to health facilities, safe water provision, and a cholera vaccination campaign in the affected areas to curb the spread of the disease.
The outbreak in Ethiopia is further complicated by growing tensions with neighboring Eritrea, with concerns that instability in Ethiopia’s Tigray region could ignite new conflict, adding to the challenges of controlling the cholera crisis.
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