Attachments
- Five months into the outbreak, 18 of the 21 provinces have been affected. The situation continues to evolve with two hotspots–Namibe and Cuanza Sul, representing more than 50% of the total weekly cases.
- As of 18 May 2025, more than 20,000 cases and over 620 deaths have been reported. In the past week alone, 1,495 new cases were recorded, reflecting a 10 per cent decrease compared to the previous week. The national Case Fatality Rate (CFR) stands at 3.0 per cent, representing a decrease from 3.4 per cent reported in April.
- Children account for approximately 50 per cent of the cases, with boys up to 19 years old representing 55 per cent of those affected. Among children, the most impacted age group is 10-14 years, with 2,557 cases reported–representing 23.9 per cent of all child cases.
- In response to the emerging hotspots in Namibe, Huíla, and Cunene, UNICEF dispatched 3,000 simplified cholera kits to provincial health authorities. Each kit includes 1 L of bleach, a soap bar of 800g and an informational flyer. The kits have been distributed to families of cases arriving at the Cholera Treatment Centres (CTCs).
- The second phase of the reactive Oral Cholera Vaccine (OCV) campaign was successfully completed with UNICEF’s support. This phase targeted populations in the two provinces covered during the first phase—Bengo and Luanda—as well as five newly affected provinces experiencing a surge in cases: Benguela, Cuanza Norte, Malanje, Namibe, and Cabinda. The campaign prioritized neighborhoods with high attack rates and reached 686,732 people, 98 per cent of the target population.
- An estimated 290,000 people were reached through a morning interactive programme on Rádio Cuanza Norte focused on cholera awareness. Additionally, over 8,000 people were reached, and 264 engaged, through UNICEF’s social media channels during the reporting period.
Situation Overview and Humanitarian Needs
As of 18 May 2025, over 20,000 cases and above 620 deaths have been reported, with 1495 cases reported in the last week representing a weekly reduction of 10 per cent of cases. The overall national Case Fatality Rate (CFR) is 3.0 per cent, representing a decrease from 3.4 per cent reported in April. Furthermore, the CFR in the last epidemiological week No. 20 (11 to 17 May 2025) was 1.7%, as a result of overall efforts on improving access to treatment and quality of cholera case management. However, despite this remarkable progress in CRF, disparities still remain, particularly in emerging hotspots where CFR is above the national average, notably in Cuanza Sul (3.7 per cent), Lunda Norte (5.1 per cent) and Zaire (7.6 per cent).
Children still represent about 50 per cent of the cases, with 55 per cent of boys affected. Among children below 19 years old, the most affected age group are children between 10-14 years old reporting overall 2,557 cases (23.9 per cent).
Five months into the outbreak, 18 out of 21 provinces have been affected, the last one being Lunda Norte, reporting over 22 cases in a week. The scenario reports an evolving epidemiological situation with emerging hotspots in Cuanza Sul, Malanje, Huíla, Cunene and Namibe. The latter are bordering provinces with Namibia, with the potential of cross border transmission.
In parallel, over the last two weeks, the combined efforts of the Government, Provincial authorities and humanitarian partners in focusing attention on Benguela province have results in a significant reduction of 27 per cent in the number of cases. Luanda province where the cholera outbreak was declared in January 2025, is currently reporting a plateau in the number of daily cases between 20 and 40, which calls for the need for continued effort to interrupt the transmission.