On Wednesday, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said it is expediting cholera outbreak response efforts in Southern Africa, particularly Zambia, as cholera cases surge in the region.

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The Africa CDC said that amid the rapid spread of the outbreak across countries in the region, a high-level delegation led by its acting Deputy Director-General Ahmed Ogwell Ouma has recently conducted engagements with senior Zambian health authorities, including the country’s President Hakainde Hichilema, to assess the cholera situation in the country and identify critical gaps for continuous support.

The Africa CDC, the public health agency of the African Union (AU), in a statement issued late Monday announced a 1-million-U.S.-dollar commitment to support interventions to alleviate the cholera outbreak in Zambia, the worst-hit country in the region along with Zimbabwe.

Data from the Africa CDC show that as of Jan. 19, a total of 11,304 cholera cases and 448 deaths had been reported from 47 districts across nine provinces of Zambia. From the total deaths reported, 199 were health facility deaths, while 249 were community deaths.

The AU health agency said its high-level delegation conducted field visits to the cholera treatment centers and affected communities and engaged with international partners, to ensure better coordination and alignment of the required support in circumventing duplication of efforts.

In addition to the financial support, the Africa CDC said it will further train and deploy 500 community health workers in the country’s Kanyama and Matara districts to support risk communication, community engagement and social and behavioral change interventions.

The support also includes strengthening laboratory capacity for genomic sequencing to identify and prevent new variants of pathogens from getting into the community, training healthcare workers on sample collection and referral, as well as the deployment of 150 clinical management staff, it said.

The continental public health agency further expressed its commitment to the procurement of medical supplies, including oral rehydration salts (ORS), disinfectants, and water quality monitors to support ongoing cholera response efforts in the country.

Noting the crucial need to put in place stringent measures to contain the further spread of the outbreak, the Africa CDC said it will strengthen cross-border surveillance. It reaffirmed its readiness to provide technical support to Zambia and the wider southern African region to control and end the outbreak.

According to data from the Africa CDC, the cholera outbreak in Zambia began in October 2023 following the detection of clusters of cases from Lusaka (Matero and Kanyama suburbs, currently considered as the epicenter). Since then, the outbreak has spread to nine of the 10 provinces, with a marked increase in transmission observed between mid-December 2023 and January 2024.

Noting that Zambia shares borders with eight AU member states, the Africa CDC stressed the need for regional and continental mobilization, coordination and preparedness among Zambia’s neighboring countries to discuss readiness and cross-border control on cholera and other reemerging public health emergencies.

Five AU member states in Southern Africa have experienced protracted cholera outbreaks since 2023, namely Malawi, South Africa, and Mozambique, with Zambia and Zimbabwe being the most affected, it said. 

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