WHO says cholera has killed around 1,800 in DR Congo amid Ebola outbreak

The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday that cholera has killed around 1,800 people in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) so far in 2026.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus described it as the country's "worst cholera outbreak in decades", according to Medical Xpress and Le Monde. The DRC is also battling an Ebola outbreak.

Both outlets attribute the death toll and this description to the WHO and its chief. The reports reviewed by Vocemundi do not provide independent verification of the WHO figures.

What is reported

According to Medical Xpress, some 60,000 cholera cases have been recorded in the DRC so far this year. The outlet put the mortality rate at around 3%, which it described as high for the disease.

Tedros said most infections had been detected in the eastern provinces of North and South Kivu, according to Medical Xpress. The outlet reported that numerous armed groups affect these provinces. Citing Tedros, it also reported that they are partly under the control of the M23 militia, which it described as Rwanda-backed.

Medical Xpress described the Ebola outbreak as the DRC's deadliest. It also reported that cholera's spread in remote, hard-to-access regions long affected by conflict is hampering the response, as it is with the Ebola epidemic.

What each side says

Medical Xpress quoted Tedros as saying: "But the concern is now there are also cases following the Congo River basin, which means that could stretch up to Kinshasa."

According to Medical Xpress, the WHO fears the ongoing rainy season will help cholera spread, including in Kinshasa, a densely populated city on the Congo River. The agency also says conflict-affected, hard-to-access areas face the prospect of a rampant cholera outbreak on top of the Ebola epidemic.

Tedros said a campaign to distribute Ebola vaccines, especially in the conflict-hit east, would be "very, very important", according to Medical Xpress.

The reports do not include comment from the DRC government, M23 or Rwanda.

What remains unclear

The reports do not say whether the 60,000 cases are laboratory-confirmed, suspected or a combination of both. They do not give a breakdown of cases or deaths by province, or say whether any cholera cases have been recorded in Kinshasa.

The reports also do not include current Ebola case or death figures, or details of the vaccine campaign, such as its timing, doses or target areas. They do not describe specific cholera response measures or what resources are available or needed.

Analysis

The WHO's statements point to two pressures: simultaneous disease outbreaks, and conflict that limits access to affected areas. If cholera reached Kinshasa, as the WHO fears it could, the response would extend from remote eastern regions to a densely populated capital. Whether that happens is uncertain, and the reports do not assess how likely it is. The main figures come from the WHO, so independent data and comment from the DRC government, M23 and Rwanda could give a fuller picture of the outbreak's scale and the conditions for the response.

Produced by the Vocemundi newsroom with AI assistance.