Cholera spreads across 21 provinces of DR Congo with over 125,000 suspected cases on the record

18 October 2026

The World Health Organization recorded more than 125,000 suspected cholera cases and 3,644 suspected deaths in the Democratic Republic of the Congo between January 2025 and the end of September 2026. Since the beginning of 2026 alone, more than 51,412 suspected cases including 1,487 deaths have been reported in 21 provinces. Health authorities recorded 2,932 suspected cases and 86 deaths from 21 to 28 September 2026, against 2,506 cases and 62 deaths the previous week. The provinces of South Kivu, North Kivu and Haut-Katanga account for nearly 60 per cent of reported suspected cases. Response teams are preparing four water chlorination sites in the worst affected areas of North Kivu, and plans are under way in Tanganyika to disinfect nearly 4,000 households and 5,900 latrines. The Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo are developing a joint cross-border oral vaccination plan.