A cholera outbreak has killed at least 15 people and infected over 2000 others over the past four months in Ethiopia’s Amhara region, the region’s public health institute revealed on Tuesday evening.
The report said more than 2,130 people have fallen ill during this period, while noting that cholera continues spreading across areas already ravaged by months of intense fighting between regional militia groups and the federal government’s military forces.
The most severely affected districts include Qwara in West Gondar, Bahir Dar Zuria in North Gojjam, Bure in West Gojjam, and Jawie in the Awi Zone, where access to vital health services has been drastically reduced or has completely collapsed.
The conflict, which sharply escalated in mid-2023 following rising tensions over the disarmament of regional security forces, has had a catastrophic impact on Amhara’s already fragile health system.
Eyewitness accounts detail hospitals being looted or destroyed, medical personnel forced to flee their posts, and crucial supply chains breaking down.
The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission has previously documented disturbing instances of health facilities being directly targeted during the intense fighting.
The spread of cholera in Amhara is not an isolated tragedy.
The disease has now reached a staggering 31 districts within the region, with the critical lack of clean water and adequate sanitation being identified as the primary causes of the spread of the waterborne disease.
Health experts on the ground warn that in areas like Jawie District, where the first cases were reported in early April, the acute scarcity of clean water and the severely compromised hygiene infrastructure are rapidly worsening the crisis.
MG/as/APA