Cholera kills hundreds across Congo

By Godfrey Olukya

ARU, Democratic Republic of Congo

The World Health Organization (WHO) and authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) said a cholera epidemic has affected 20 of the country's 26 provinces and has killed over 500 people.

WHO said in a statement that the cholera epidemic is reaching dangerous levels with more than 1,500 cases per week since the end of July 2017.

According to the statement, "As of September 2, 2017, the authorities of DRC have already recorded a cumulative total of 24,217 suspected cases with 528 deaths.''

DRC’s ministry of public health has confirmed the epidemic in a statement explaining it has redefined the framework for combating this diarrheal disease by setting up a program to eliminate cholera and control other diseases like it.

In collaboration with DRC’s ministry of public service, WHO raised the epidemic to grade 2 of the emergency response framework and deployed a group of international experts to support the development of an emergency response plan.

WHO said that it has contributed 400,000 US dollars towards the deployment of technical teams in the affected areas .