South Sudan has been witnessing the worst cholera in 20 years, with 694 deaths among 40,000 injuries within 6 months, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) yesterday, Monday.
The most recent country in the world, which has been stabilizing since its independence from Sudan in 2011, announced the outbreak of the epidemic in October 2024.
The organization said – in a statement – that “from September 28, 2024 to March 18, 2025, more than 40,000 injuries were reported in South Sudan, including 694 deaths in the country, making it the worst epidemic in 20 years.”
The statement indicated that half of the number of cases are children under the age of 15.
MSF revealed last week that the violence in the state of Upper Nile in the northeast of the country was “aggravating the epidemic.”
Since the end of February, violence has resulted in the displacement of 50,000 people, including 10,000, who crossed the border towards Ethiopia, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Osha) in southern Sudan.
On the same day, the United Nations warned that the country “is on the verge of slipping again to a civil war.”
Cholera is an acute intestinal infection that results from eating contaminated food or water that causes diarrhea and vomiting, and can lead to severe dehydration and death in the absence of immediate treatment, and may pose a threat to young children in particular.
UNICEF recorded more than 178,000 cholera in 16 countries in East and South Africa between January 2024 and March 2025.
The organization pointed out that about 2,900 people died, including many children.
She added that Angola recorded more than 7500 injuries and 294 deaths between January 7 and March 18.