An urgent warning has been sounded by the International Rescue Committee (IRC) following a rapidly spreading cholera outbreak in Somalia’s central region of Hiraan. This outbreak has been attributed to intense flooding caused by El Niño rains, presenting a grave public health crisis with the majority of cases being severe and affecting the most vulnerable population. Shockingly, over 55% of the 980 reported cases were children under the age of five.
Multiple districts in Somalia have been hit hard by the cholera outbreak since January 2024, with over half of the cases reported in January coming from the Hiraan region. The outbreak originated in Beledweyne and then quickly spread across the region, impacting Bula Burte and Jalalasi, as well as Jowhar in the neighboring Middle Shabelle region. The severity of the situation calls for immediate action to curb the further spread of the disease. A national Cholera Task Force has been activated, urgently seeking funding to scale up cholera response activities in affected regions.
It is important to note that the Somali population has already been suffering from the impact of recent floods, which have affected thousands of families and destroyed farmlands. In 2023, Somalia faced a 15% increase in suspected cholera cases compared to 2022, reaching a total of 18,304 from January to December—an alarming rise from the previous year. Of great concern is the impact on the most vulnerable, with at least 10,000 cases affecting children under five years old.
Richard Crothers, IRC Somalia Country Director, expressed the urgent need for action, stating, “The IRC, in collaboration with partners, is working tirelessly to provide medical treatment, clean drinking water, and proper sanitation facilities to the affected population in the most affected districts across Hiraan. These communities have been disconnected from accessing essential healthcare services as the El Niño rains caused flooding leading to the river overflowing, causing mass displacement as the affected families moved to high ground. While the rains have currently stopped, it remains extremely difficult to reach villages on the outskirts.
The situation demands a unified and concerted effort to contain the outbreak, mitigate its impact, and ensure the provision of essential healthcare services to affected populations. Communities hit by the outbreak are already in a vulnerable position, as they have yet to recover from the El Niño phenomenon, which brought extensive damage to infrastructure, including homes, roads, and vital services across the country, and particularly in the Hiraan region. After an unprecedented drought in 2022-23 which killed 43,000 people, followed by devastating floods which has so far killed about 118 people and displaced 649,000 people, nearly a quarter of Somalis (3 million people) are experiencing hunger and malnutrition. This underscores the profound impact of climate change on the country’s health infrastructure.”
The IRC has been working in Somalia since 1981 and has continuously supported families with healthcare for malnourished children, unconditional cash transfers to help people quickly get the support they need, rehabilitation of boreholes and water sources, as well as mobile health services to reach deeper into hard-hit areas in the main areas of concern including Banadir, Puntland, South-West, Jubaland, and Hirshabelle states.
