The cholera epidemic declared on 9 August by the Nigerien Ministry of Public Health has led to over four thousand and two hundred cases across six of the country’s eight regions and claimed 144 lives. 

Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) says that although the number of cholera cases are decreasing in some regions, more resources must keep coming to break the transmission chain of the disease in places where epidemic clusters remain active. 

Souleymane Ba, MSF’s emergency coordinator in Zinder, a region in southern Niger says his agency is currently facing a large-scale epidemic.

He warned that the risks of the disease spreading are increased because of a lack of drinking water and poor sanitation, particularly during this rainy season.

Abdullahi Hassan reporting.