MOGADISHU (KAAB TV) – According to Somalia’s Ministry of Health, at least 75 people have died from cholera since January, with an increase in new cases.
The Department of Health and Human Services reported 7,235 new cases so far, with 4,647, or 64 percent, classed as serious.
“The overall mortality rate of the cumulative cases reported during this period is 1.0 percent, although certain regions such as Bosaso, Buolo-burte, and Mahaday show higher rates,” the ministry stated in its most recent epidemiological report. Left the city, Mogadishu, on Tuesday evening.
Cholera is an infection that spreads by eating or drinking anything infected with germs, mainly from faeces.
According to the Ministry of Health, 3,708 of the recorded cases, or 51 percent, were female, demonstrating women’s vulnerability to cholera infection.
Also, she stated that 4,174 cases, or 58 percent, were children under the age of five, underlining the increased danger posed by this age group.
A growing amount of people without access to clean water and proper sanitation facilities has contributed significantly to the cholera outbreak in Somalia.
Floods produced by El Nino in the fourth quarter of 2023 have severely impacted several sections of Somalia, resulting to an increase in cholera cases, according to the United Nations.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), cholera has been endemic in Somalia since 2022, and in the Banadir region since 2017.
In 2023, there were over 18,300 cases and 46 deaths, with children under the age of five accounting for more than half of them.