Zambia
Landlocked southern African republic bordering eight countries; capital Lusaka.
Zambia, the landlocked southern African republic governed from Lusaka, declared a new Cholera outbreak on 30 September 2026, 11 weeks after ending the last one, with 304 cases and 11 deaths in seven districts.
Last refreshed: 4 October 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Timeline for Zambia
Mentioned in: Cholera killed 7,870 in 2025, WHO says
Pandemics and BiosecurityBackground
Zambia declared a new Cholera outbreak on 30 September 2026, 11 weeks after ending the last one. Acting Health Minister Gilbert Siame reported 304 cases and 11 deaths to 29 September in seven districts across five provinces, including Lusaka, Chongwe and Chibombo; eight of the deaths were in the community. The first case was confirmed on 13 August in a patient from Chibombo admitted in Lusaka (News Diggers). The previous outbreak began in August 2025 and was declared over on 16 July 2026 after 1,627 confirmed cases and 26 deaths in 25 districts (Lusaka Times).
The outbreak lands in a bad period for Cholera worldwide. WHO's annual report, released on 29 September, recorded 451,499 cases and 7,870 deaths in 47 countries in 2025, the most deaths reported to WHO since 1999, even as oral vaccine output rose from about 30 million to 80 million doses a year. Zambia supplied a counter-example in 2018, when a city-wide oral vaccine campaign in Lusaka, run with water chlorination and a ban on street food, ended an outbreak within months.
President Hakainde Hichilema won a second term on 13 August 2026 with about 61% of the vote and was sworn in on 1 September, while runner-up Brian Mundubile was held on a treason charge amid opposition claims of rigging (Al Jazeera).