Cholera has infected around 17,500 people and killed 508 in the central African nation this year
DAKAR (AlertNet) - Aid agencies in Democratic Republic of Congo are running short of funds to respond to a cholera outbreak that has hit eight out of 11 provinces, the United Nations has said.
Cholera has infected around 17,500 people and killed 508 in the vast central African nation since the start of the year, according to the Congolese ministry of health and the World Health Organisation (WHO).
With the epidemic yet to subside, humanitarian agencies estimate at least $4 million is needed to maintain cholera response activities in the western provinces of Equateur, Bandundu and Kinshasa, and the central-eastern Province Orientale, until next year.
“We are in the rainy season - a period which increases the risk of propagation. It is therefore important that aid groups continue the response,” said Yvon Edoumou, spokesman for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Congo.
There are have been more than 7,500 cases in western provinces , including the capital Kinshasa which had not experienced a cholera epidemic in 10 years. But the majority of cases - about 10,000 - have been reported in the restive eastern region, where waterborne diseases are endemic.
Cholera is an acute intestinal infection caused by bacteria in contaminated food or water, prompting diarrhoea and vomiting. If left untreated, patients can die of dehydration, sometimes in a matter of hours.
A cholera epidemic has swept across West and Central Africa, infecting more than 85,000 people and killing about 2,500 others this year, the United Nations said last month.
NEED FOR CLEAN WATER, SANITATION
Limited access to clean water and poor sanitation are major reasons for the persistence of cholera in Congo, OCHA said in a statement.
“Humanitarian response only comes to save lives in an emergency for a short while. The real solution to cholera would be for development partners and the Congolese government to improve access to clean water and good sanitation infrastructure in the country,” OCHA’s Edoumou told AlertNet from Kinshasa.
Congo is also struggling to cope with a measles epidemic, which has infected more than 123,500 people and killed 1,519, according to OCHA.
In an effort to curb its spread, the Congolese health ministry has conducted a series of vaccination campaigns, supported by medical aid group Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), the U.N. Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and WHO.
Measles is a highly infectious disease that mostly affects children. It is characterised by a rash, runny nose and high fever. It reduces children’s resistance to illness and makes them more likely to die when they are malnourished and suffering from other diseases.
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