In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), 3,200 cases of cholera were recorded in January 2023, three-quarters of them among the half-million displaced people in North Kivu. If Doctor Placide Welo Okitayemba believes that the situation “is stabilizing”, this director of the cholera elimination program at the Congolese Ministry of Health points to a lack of means, in particular in access to water, sanitation, and hygiene.
Cholera has been surging again in Africa since the beginning of 2023. The World Health Organization (WHO) recorded 26,000 new cases in ten countries on the continent in January 2023 alone.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, which recorded 3,200 cases in January, including three quarters among the half-million displaced people in North Kivu, the epidemic is stabilizing thanks to a response plan. But the latter lacks funding and the situation remains fragile.
“We urgently requested vaccines, and we finished the first round,” said Doctor Placide Welo Okitayemba, director of the cholera elimination program at the Congolese Ministry of Health, at the microphone of Claire Fages. We have more than 340,000 people vaccinated, mainly in these two health zones where there are displaced people in Nyiragongo and Karisimbi”.