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DR Congo + 27 more

WHO AFRO Outbreaks and Other Emergencies, Week 25: 17 - 23 June 2019; Data as reported by 17:00; 23 June 2019

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This Weekly Bulletin focuses on selected acute public health emergencies occurring in the WHO African Region. The WHO Health Emergencies Programme is currently monitoring 77 events in the region. This week’s edition covers key new and ongoing events, including:

  • Cholera in Nigeria.
  • Ebola virus disease in Democratic Republic of the Congo
  • Humanitarian crisis in Ethiopia
  • Humanitarian crisis in South Sudan.

For each of these events, a brief description, followed by public health measures implemented and an interpretation of the situation is provided.

A table is provided at the end of the bulletin with information on all new and ongoing public health events currently being monitored in the region, as well as recent events that have largely been controlled and thus closed.

Major issues and challenges include:

  • The outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in North Kivu and Ituri provinces,
    Democratic Republic of the Congo continues, with fluctuating transmission intensity. There has been a period of improved security recently, allowing response teams to access communities and operate more freely. As a result, indicators over the past few weeks provide early signs of an easing of the transmission intensity in major hotspots. However, concerns remain over the number of new cases still occurring in areas that previously had lower rates of transmission. Additionally, the lack of funding to support response operations has reached a worrying level. The international community must step up funding to support the ongoing response and strengthen preparedness in Democratic Republic of the Congo and neighbouring countries.

-Health authorities in Nigeria have confirmed a new cholera outbreak in Adamawa State, one of the three states in north-east Nigeria with prolonged complex humanitarian emergencies. These states are vulnerable to experiencing large cholera outbreaks, as has been seen in the recent past. It is therefore critical that the current cholera outbreak is responded to swiftly at the initial stages to prevent escalation of the situation.