Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), also known as Doctors Without Borders, has raised alarm over a rapidly escalating cholera outbreak in Zamfara State, where more than 1,500 cases have been recorded in recent weeks.
MSF’s Medical Coordinator in Nigeria, David Kizito, said the figure was drawn from three medical facilities the organisation supports in the state, with additional high incidence rates reported by the Zamfara State Ministry of Health and other humanitarian agencies.
Hotspot areas include Shinkafi, Zurmi, and Talata Mafara local government areas, where access to clean water remains critically low. Between 16 June and 5 August, the Cholera Treatment Centre (CTC) in Zurmi recorded 562 suspected cases, mostly from Yambuki, Kadamusa, and Zurmi town. Shinkafi General Hospital reported about 401 cases between 11 July and 5 August, while the Talata Mafara Cholera Treatment Unit documented more than 600 cases from 1 July to 8 August.
Mr Kizito noted that cholera, which causes severe diarrhoea and vomiting, can lead to death within hours if untreated. Seasonal outbreaks in Nigeria often worsen between April and October due to flooding that contaminates water sources.
He said MSF has scaled up Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) interventions, health promotion activities, and expanded treatment capacity by establishing new cholera centres in affected LGAs.
The outbreak, unfolding amid insecurity, displacement, and poor sanitation, has prompted calls for urgent vaccination, decentralised oral rehydration points, and improved primary healthcare capacity.
MSF’s Head of Mission in Nigeria, Ahmad Bilal, urged residents to boil drinking water, practise regular handwashing, consume freshly prepared meals, avoid open defecation, and stay up to date with vaccinations.
“No one should die from a preventable disease,” Mr Kizito stressed.
