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The epidemic broke out seriously in the Horn of Africa

Posted on 31 Month 05 2024

Recently, the Horn of Africa region has recorded tens of thousands of cases of cholera, malaria, measles, dengue fever... after heavy rains caused serious floods.

*The epidemic is seriously raging in the Horn of Africa - Photo: WHO*

On May 30, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), an organization of East African countries, said that many disease outbreaks have been recorded in the region including cholera, malaria, measles, dengue fever, yellow fever, polio and anthrax. All of these diseases are directly related to extreme climate events.

Accordingly, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan and Uganda are responding to serious cholera outbreaks. Specifically in Ethiopia, there have been more than 14,000 cases and 114 deaths recorded in the first 4 months of 2024.

The organization added that seven countries, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda, are also struggling with rising malaria cases.

Meanwhile, measles outbreaks are spreading across countries, with Ethiopia alone reporting 20,580 cases and 162 related deaths as of the end of April, and Somalia reporting 360 suspected cases.

In addition, Kenya is also responding to dengue fever, while yellow fever is active in South Sudan.

According to IGAD and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, about 74.9 million people in the region are facing food insecurity following the floods and are in need of urgent humanitarian assistance.