Cholera outbreaks in Africa

Congo-Kinshasa hit hard by cholera outbreak

Congo-Kinshasa has been hit hard by the intestinal disease cholera, AFP reports. In June, Congo-Kinshasa was the second-worst-hit country in Africa, with 34,000 confirmed cases by the end of the month.

In the capital Kinshasa, flooding, a lack of clean water and a functioning sewage system have led to the disease spreading rapidly. People in the poor Pakadjuma district are forced to wade through mountains of garbage to reach a health facility, according to the news agency.

852 deaths have been reported in 17 different provinces in the country.

Gilbert in Pakadjuma: “We are constantly exposed here”

In the poor Pakadjuma district of the capital of Congo-Kinshasa, work to prevent the spread of the disease cholera is being hampered by a lack of clean water and basic sanitation, AFP writes.

“Can people really live like this in a city?” resident Gilbert Mujinga told the news agency, pointing to one of the neighborhood’s large garbage dumps.

He says people in the area are “constantly exposed” to cholera, drawing parallels to the pandemic.

More than 850 deaths have been confirmed nationwide.