DRC Cholera Outbreak: Over 4,600 Cases in South Kivu (Q1 2026)

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is facing a significant public health crisis as cholera cases surge across multiple provinces. In the first quarter of 2026, South Kivu province alone reported more than 4,600 cases of the disease, highlighting a persistent and intensifying outbreak in the region.

This escalation follows a challenging period in 2025, when the Ministry of Public Health, Hygiene, and Social Welfare of the DRC declared a cholera outbreak on 5 May 2025. Between 1 January and 8 June 2025, the country reported 29,392 suspected cholera cases and 620 deaths, with a mortality rate of 2% that indicated critical gaps in early and adequate treatment.

Regional Impact and Affected Areas

The burden of the disease is widespread, though certain provinces have been disproportionately affected. In addition to the high case numbers in South Kivu during early 2026, other heavily impacted provinces include Kinshasa, Tanganyika, Haut-Katanga, Haut-Lomami, North Kivu, and Lualaba.

The situation in South Kivu has been particularly severe. Reports from January 2026 indicated a disproportionate burden in the province, with a case fatality rate reaching 23.4% in certain areas. The high number of suspect cases in South Kivu during the start of 2026 was partially attributed to population displacement.

Drivers of Transmission

Public health officials and responding agencies have identified several intersecting factors that are accelerating the spread of cholera within the DRC. Environmental challenges, including severe flooding in eastern provinces, have contributed to the contamination of water sources.

High population mobility, particularly along the Congo River, has further facilitated the movement of the bacteria across different regions. These environmental and social factors are compounded by ongoing humanitarian crises and concurrent outbreaks of other diseases, such as measles and mpox, which have strained the national health capacity.

In specific locales, economic drivers have created high-risk environments. In Lomera, South Kivu, a gold rush beginning in December 2024 caused the population of a lakeside village to explode from 1,500 to over 12,000 residents. This rapid growth led to a proliferation of makeshift shelters and a critical lack of sanitation infrastructure.

The risk factors in these densely populated settlements include:

• Inadequate access to clean water
• Insufficient latrine capacity and frequent open defecation
• Limited handwashing facilities
• Low vaccination coverage, with some areas not seeing a campaign since 2022
• Hillside locations where untreated waste flows into lakes, perpetuating contamination

Emergency Response and Interventions

The Government of the DRC, supported by the World Health Organization (WHO) and other partners, has activated the Incident Management System to coordinate the national response. The primary goals of this effort are to interrupt the transmission of the disease and reduce the number of cholera-related deaths.

WHO has deployed rapid response teams to affected areas to assist local health authorities with laboratory diagnosis, clinical management, case investigation, and water and sanitation activities. To support treatment centers, WHO deployed emergency inter-agency kits capable of treating over 10,000 people, as well as eight specific cholera kits for an additional 800 patients in North Kivu province.

Non-governmental organizations have also provided critical frontline support. In Lomera, South Kivu, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) launched an emergency response in early May 2025, providing treatment to more than 600 patients and administering vaccinations to over 8,000 people while implementing clean water solutions.