News: Cholera resurgence in Ethiopia's Amhara region claims 3 lives, over 160 cases reported
Addis Abeba– A resurgence of cholera outbreak in Ethiopia’s Amhara region has resulted in over 160 cases and three deaths, with multiple cases reported in West Gondar zone, according to the European Commission’s Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG ECHO).
According to a report published on February 6, West Gondar’s Quara district recorded 122 cases and one death, while Genda Wuha district reported three cases and one death. In Central Gondar zone, three cases and one death were confirmed, while Bahir Dar, the region’s capital, registered 33 cases.
The report links the outbreak to “the Bermel Georgis holy water” in Quara district, which attracts pilgrims from across the region and beyond. It also warns that this could “entail a significant risk” of further spread.
Efforts to contain the outbreak are hindered by “severe security and access constraints” in Amhara region, where federal forces and regional militias are engaged in armed conflict, the report added.
The Ethiopia Rapid Response Mechanism (ET-RRM), co-funded by DG ECHO, has been activated to address the outbreak at the community level. Meanwhile, the International Medical Corps, with DG ECHO funding, is supporting institutional-level interventions in coordination with the World Health Organization (WHO) and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), the report says.
The resurgence comes months after Ethiopia saw a nationwide decline in cholera cases following its longest outbreak, which began in August 2022. According to the Ethiopia Health Cluster Bulletin, the number of affected districts dropped from 65 in late September to 25 by mid-November 2024, while weekly case counts fell from over 200 at their peak to 59. However, the Bulletin also reported a new outbreak in Benishangul Gumuz, linked to “population displacements from the Amhara region.”
In June 2024, Addis Standard reported that five people had died and more than 500 had been infected since the cholera outbreak began in Amhara in April that year.
The epidemic affected districts in South Wollo, the Oromo Special Zone, and North Gojjam, while cases were also reported in major cities, including Dessie, Kombolcha, Bahir Dar, and Gondar. An earlier wave of the outbreak, between July and December 2023, had affected more than 4,980 people in the region. AS
