Cholera outbreak in Nigeria, file photo
from JEAN KASSONGO in Kinshasa, DRC
KINSHASA, (CAJ News) – AT least 411 people have died from cholera across Central and West Africa since the beginning of the year.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) recorded over 18 000 cases during the period.
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is the worst affected with 354 deaths from 19 600 cases.
DRC is prone to disease, as the cholera outbreak coincides with ongoing eruptions of the Ebola virus and measles.
At least 39 people have died from cholera in Nigeria. The deaths are a total of 1 387 cases confirmed.
UNICEF has documented 17 deaths from 30 cases in neighbouring Cameroon.
A single death has been confirmed in Chad.
The four countries are suffering conflicts, which have left thousands homeless and living under inhabitable conditions.
In DRC, rebel groups are running rampage while Cameroon, Chad and Nigeria are beset by the Boko Haram terror group.
Cameroon has also experienced massive displacements following the conflict in English-speaking communities seeking independence from the Central African country.
UNICEF said new cases of cholera were reported in the northern and far northern regions of Cameroon bordering Nigeria and Chad.
“The risk of spreading cholera in the Lake Chad Basin region is still present,” the agency warned.
– CAJ News