Intense rainfall and severe flooding since mid-December 2025 have affected approximately 1.3 million people across southern Africa, causing widespread destruction of homes and critical infrastructure and disrupting access to health services. The floods have heightened the risk of water- and mosquito-borne diseases, with Mozambique accounting for about half of those affected. Other impacted countries include Malawi, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Urgent humanitarian needs include shelter, safe water, and essential health services.
The risk of water-borne diseases such as acute watery diarrhoea and cholera is particularly high in displacement sites, where overcrowding and limited access to hygiene, sanitation, and safe water prevail. While Mozambique was already experiencing a cholera outbreak in northern and central provinces, no cases have yet been reported in the newly flood-affected areas. Nevertheless, disease surveillance has been strengthened to prevent outbreaks.
In addition to water-borne diseases, widespread displacement and poor sanitation infrastructure increase the risk of acute respiratory infections, pneumonia, and skin diseases. Interruptions to routine health services may also exacerbate maternal and newborn illness and deaths, disrupt HIV and tuberculosis treatment, reduce immunizations, and limit care for noncommunicable diseases, posing further public health threats.
WHO and its partners are supporting national authorities in responding to the disaster. Immediate actions include pre-positioning essential health supplies, coordinating health response at provincial and district levels, and strengthening disease surveillance and prevention measures. Mobile clinics are being established in flood-affected areas, emergency obstetric and newborn care services are being ensured in displacement sites, and intensified cholera and diarrhoea prevention measures are being implemented. Efforts also focus on maintaining essential health services and improving water, hygiene, and sanitation infrastructure.
Despite the heightened risk of cholera, there has been an overall decline in cases across the African region, with 4,385 cases reported in January 2026 from ten countries, compared with more than 20,000 cases in January 2025. Other public health emergencies are also showing improvements: diphtheria cases, which previously affected eight countries, have dropped to fewer than 100 per week, and mpox cases have declined to 269 in January 2026 from roughly 5,300 the previous year.
Rapid response efforts have also controlled the Marburg virus outbreak in Ethiopia, where no new cases have been reported since 13 December 2025, and the country is on track to declare the outbreak over on 26 January 2026 if no further cases emerge. WHO and partners continue to strengthen health emergency preparedness and response systems across the region to ensure rapid detection, timely response to outbreaks, and protection of vulnerable communities.
