South Sudan suffers worst cholera outbreak in 20 years: UNICEF

South Sudan is grappling with its worst cholera outbreak in two decades, the United Nations warned Monday, saying almost 700 deaths were reported in a six-month period.

The deeply impoverished nation—despite its major oil deposits—has been plagued by insecurity since declaring independence in 2011.

Parts of the country have lately seen fresh waves of violence, with clashes between forces allied to President Salva Kiir and his longtime rival, First Vice President Riek Machar, displacing tens of thousands.

UNICEF said that 40,000 cholera cases were reported from the end of September to March 18, “including 694 deaths country-wide, its worst outbreak in 20 years.”

It said half the cases were children under 15 years old.

South Sudan and Angola face the most severe of several outbreaks across eastern and southern Africa, the agency said.

Angola reported over 7,500 cases, including 294 deaths, from January 7 to March 18, UNICEF said, warning there were “high risks for further escalation.”

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) warned Monday that cholera was spreading rapidly as people in South Sudan fled for safety.

The medical charity has treated 400 cholera patients in one county alone in Upper Nile State, it said, warning the disease had spread to neighboring Jonglei state where MSF runs a 100-bed treatment unit.

“With cholera spreading rapidly and violence ongoing, the need for medical care in Upper Nile State is more critical than ever,” said Zakaria Mwatia, MSF head of mission in South Sudan.

Earlier this month, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in South Sudan said 50,000 people had been displaced since February as violence flared in northeastern Upper Nile State.

It said a cholera treatment unit in Upper Nile State’s Nasir county had closed, with 23 humanitarian workers forced to leave.

The region has been the main focus of clashes that threaten a fragile power-sharing agreement between Kiir and Machar.

South Sudan has seen a steady increase in cholera—an acute form of diarrhea that is treatable with antibiotics and hydration, but which can be deadly if untreated—over the past three years.

In 2022, the country marked its first resurgence in five years, following an outbreak between June 2016 and December 2017 that killed 436 people.

In December, MSF warned that South Sudan was seeing an “alarming and rapid increase” in the disease.

It said 92 people had died following an outbreak in Unity State and that it had treated over 1,210 people in just four weeks in Bentiu city.

© 2025 AFP