Cholera: 2,855 cases recorded in Burundi since January
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Mali Actu
Illustrative image · Asad Photo Maldives · Pexels · Licence PexelsBurundi recorded 2,855 cholera cases between 1 January and 3 November 2026, with active transmission in 13 health districts, according to the World Health Organization in Bujumbura. The disease is affecting north-western Bujumbura and Rumonge in particular, while minister Fidèle Nkezabahizi is calling for a stronger multisectoral response, according to the WHO.
Burundi recorded 2,855 cholera cases between 1 January and 3 November 2026, according to data from the World Health Organization (WHO) office in Bujumbura. The bacterium is actively circulating in 13 health districts across the country.
The outbreak is particularly affecting north-western Bujumbura and the commune of Rumonge, in the south-west of the country, where several hospitalisations and at least one death at home have been recorded. The disease is historically endemic in the Rusizi plain, bordering the DRC, and along Lake Tanganyika, where many residents still obtain water directly from contaminated waterways due to a lack of access to safe drinking water.
Burundi's Minister of Public Health and the Fight against AIDS, Dr Fidèle Nkezabahizi, is calling for stronger cooperation between the state and its international partners. The strategy provides for intensifying field interventions, strengthening the skills of local community actors, improving hygiene in healthcare facilities and finalising the multisectoral plan for the sustainable elimination of cholera.
Burundi recorded nearly 3,000 cases and 13 deaths in 2025. Without a rapid improvement in access to safe drinking water, a comparable toll is feared by the end of 2026.
