By John Ikani
No fewer than 48 people have died in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s central province of Sankuru, following a cholera outbreak in the region.
Privately-owned news website Actualites CD quoted local health officials as saying 401 cases of the disease were recorded between 15 and 21 August.
To contain the disease, health officials are working with the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) to raise awareness among the local population.
According to the website, the province of Sankuru has also been dealing with other diseases such as measles, monkeypox, acute respiratory infections and meningitis.
Asides the cholera outbreak, Congolese health official say the nation is battling cases of monkeypox, which was declared a global health emergency in July by the World Health Organization.
What you should know
In the DRC, an estimated five million people are at risk of cholera every year, especially in the eastern provinces where the disease is endemic.
Outside of the major urban cities such as Kinshasa and Lubumbashi access to potable water is limited.
One out of two households in the DRC does not have access to drinking water, and poor sanitation and hygiene services, are among disease predisposing factors.
