Sunday, 22 February 2026
Today in Focus — Displacement, Cholera, and Conflict
The DRC - WHO data released this week shows cholera cases in the DRC surged 39% in January alone, with deaths up 66% from the previous month. Cholera is endemic in the DRC, which regularly accounts for 30 to 40% of the global total. However, this year the war in the east has made the situation worse than ever, and the geographic spread is growing — cases are now appearing as far west as Kinshasa.In the east, the M23/AFC offensive has driven massive displacement, forcing communities onto contaminated water sources and overwhelming already fragile health systems. The central irony is, as UNICEF's John Agbor noted, "Congolese children should not be so gravely affected by what is a wholly preventable disease."
The DRC is not suffering from a lack of knowledge or a lack of planning. It is suffering from three compounding failures: conflict that destroys water infrastructure and drives mass displacement, chronic under-investment in sanitation that leaves communities with no resilient baseline, and a humanitarian funding crisis that strips away the emergency response capacity needed to compensate for both.
South Sudan has seen nearly 100,000 cases and over 1,600 deaths from cholera since the latest epidemic broke out in September 2024. The opportunity to prevent a massive resurgence is shrinking fast as the rainy season approaches in April and May. The government's current military offensive into Jonglei is bound to worsen displacement (already over 280,000 people) and accelerate transmission. Moreover, in the lead-up to the campaign, the government ordered all aid agencies to stop their work and leave most of the region.
Behind the military thrust lies the deepening rupture between President Kiir and opposition leader Riek Machar — a political and military power struggle that has ethnic dimensions, broadly Dinka versus Nuer, but cannot be reduced to tribal groupings alone. It reflects the failure to build any genuine national political consensus beyond their personal power lines.
What is required is implementation of the Revitalized Peace Agreement (September 2018) — particularly its provisions on power sharing, a unified military, and free elections — all of which remain stalled. Elections, the first in South Sudan's history, are presently scheduled for December, but without consensus on the peace agreement, any election is likely to lack credibility. With Machar effectively excluded from electoral preparations and fighting intensifying on the ground, that date — or any date — looks doubtful.
South Sudan has seen nearly 100,000 cases and over 1,600 deaths from cholera since the latest epidemic broke out in September 2024. The opportunity to prevent a massive resurgence is shrinking fast as the rainy season approaches in April and May. The government's current military offensive into Jonglei is bound to worsen displacement (already over 280,000 people) and accelerate transmission. Moreover, in the lead-up to the campaign, the government ordered all aid agencies to stop their work and leave most of the region.
Behind the military thrust lies the deepening rupture between President Kiir and opposition leader Riek Machar — a political and military power struggle that has ethnic dimensions, broadly Dinka versus Nuer, but cannot be reduced to tribal groupings alone. It reflects the failure to build any genuine national political consensus beyond their personal power lines.
What is required is implementation of the Revitalized Peace Agreement (September 2018) — particularly its provisions on power sharing, a unified military, and free elections — all of which remain stalled. Elections, the first in South Sudan's history, are presently scheduled for December, but without consensus on the peace agreement, any election is likely to lack credibility. With Machar effectively excluded from electoral preparations and fighting intensifying on the ground, that date — or any date — looks doubtful.
Tom
Today's News Links
Afghanistan
UNICEF has launched a 16-week Early Childhood Development program across six Afghan provinces, training parents in improved child care and nurturing practices to strengthen brain development, physical health, and learning in the early years of life.
South Sudan
UN Peace Operations chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix warned the Security Council that South Sudan is on a dangerous precipice, with over 280,000 people displaced by fighting in Jonglei State alone, a hospital struck in an airstrike, and humanitarian barges looted. The country's worst-ever cholera outbreak has surpassed 98,000 cases, while UNMISS budget cuts have reduced civilian protection patrols by up to 70% in some areas.
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