Cholera Crisis Deepens in Zamfara as MSF Urges Urgent Action to Avert Deaths

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), also known as Doctors Without Borders warns that cholera cases in Zamfara State are surging, with over 1,500 reported in just three supported facilities, urging swift action to avert further deaths.

MSF’s Medical Coordinator in Nigeria,David Kizito, confirms outbreaks in Shinkafi, Zurmi, and Talata Mafara — all areas with “critically low” access to safe water. “Flooding during the rainy season contaminates water sources, accelerating disease spread in areas with poor sanitation,” he says.

In a statement issued on Thursday night by the organisation, between 16 June and 5 August, Zurmi’s Cholera Treatment Centre recorded 562 suspected cases, mostly from Yambuki, Kadamusa, and Zurmi town. Shinkafi General Hospital treated 401 cases from Alkalawa, Sabon Gari, Kurya, and parts of Sokoto State. Talata Mafara saw over 600 cases, primarily from Kayaye, Anka, and Bakura.

Cholera, endemic in Nigeria for decades, intensifies seasonally between April and October. It causes severe diarrhoea and vomiting, leading to fatal dehydration within hours if untreated.

In response, MSF has scaled up Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) measures, expanded treatment facilities, and collaborated with the Ministry of Health to activate a Public Health Emergency Operations Centre on 3 July. “Urgent cholera vaccination is needed to halt transmission and save lives,” Kizito stresses.

MSF Head of Mission, Ahmad Bilal urges preventive measures: “Boil drinking water, wash hands regularly, eat freshly prepared meals, avoid open defecation, and keep vaccinations up to date.”

Kizito insists the fight requires community involvement: “No one should die from a preventable disease.”

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