Droughts, famines and displacement
The diphtheria outbreak in Somalia, 2023 to 2025
The Red Cross dates the outbreak to January 2023, when diphtheria re-emerged in Puntland. WHO counted 838 cases in 2024 and 3,622 in 2025. By mid-November 2025 there had been 3,129 suspected cases and 132 deaths that year, most in Banadir and Puntland. Most cases had never been vaccinated.
In short
Diphtheria is a vaccine-preventable throat infection. Somalia reported few or no cases to the World Health Organization (WHO) for years: 6 in 2018, none in 2019 and 2020, and 1 in 2023. The count then rose to 838 in 2024 and 3,622 in 2025 (WHO Global Health Observatory, diphtheria reported cases, Somalia).
The Red Cross (IFRC) traced the outbreak to "events dating back to January 2023, when Puntland first began experiencing a resurgence of diphtheria" (ReliefWeb, Somalia: Diphtheria Outbreak – Jul 2025; IFRC, 18 August 2025).
Cases reported to WHO
| Year | Cases |
|---|---|
| 1983 | 206 |
| 1984 | 58 |
| 1985 | 19 |
| 1989 | 24 |
| 2012 | 65 |
| 2013 | 7 |
| 2018 | 6 |
| 2019 | 0 |
| 2020 | 0 |
| 2023 | 1 |
| 2024 | 838 |
| 2025 | 3,622 |
Source: WHO Global Health Observatory, indicator WHS3_41, downloaded 13 November 2026. Years not shown were not reported.
Puntland, mid-2025
- By epidemiological week 27 of 2025 (early July), there were 482 confirmed cases and 27 deaths in the Puntland regions of Mudug, Nugaal and Bari (IFRC, 18 August 2025).
- Schools and camps for displaced people "emerged as major transmission zones due to high population movement, overcrowding, and lack of vaccination coverage" (IFRC).
- 65% of reported cases were unvaccinated and 24% were under five (IFRC).
The national count, 2025
- August. Hussein Abdukar Muhidin, director of the National Institute of Health, gave more than 1,600 cases and 87 deaths for 2025, against 838 cases and 56 deaths in 2024 (Arab News / Reuters, 19 August 2025).
- November. From week 1 to week 46 of 2025, WHO counted 3,129 suspected cases and 132 deaths (WHO, 30 November 2025, via ReliefWeb).
| Area | Cases | Deaths |
|---|---|---|
| Banadir | 1,306 | 74 |
| Puntland | 1,136 | 39 |
| South West | 306 | 3 |
| Galmudug | 273 | 8 |
WHO said 61% of cases were over five years old and 73% had no history of vaccination. It called the outbreak "a continuation of the 2023 outbreak, with ongoing transmission in most districts" (WHO, 30 November 2025).
Vaccines and aid cuts
- Coverage. WHO and UNICEF estimate that 72% of one-year-olds had three doses of the diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis vaccine (DTP3) in 2025, up from 33% in 2000 (WHO GHO, DTP3 coverage).
- Shortages. Health Minister Ali Hajji Adam said the government had trouble buying enough vaccines during a global shortage, and that "mobile vaccination teams that took vaccines to remote areas lost funding and now do not work" (Arab News / Reuters, 19 August 2025).
- US aid. US assistance to Somalia was US$149 million in the fiscal year to 30 September 2025, against US$765 million the year before, according to US government figures cited by Reuters. A State Department spokesperson said "The United States continues to provide lifesaving foreign assistance in Somalia" (Arab News / Reuters).
Related pages
Sources
- World Health Organization. Global Health Observatory: diphtheria reported cases (WHS3_41) and DTP3 coverage (WHS4_100), Somalia.
- ReliefWeb. Somalia: Diphtheria Outbreak – Jul 2025 (IFRC, 18 August 2025; WHO, 30 November 2025).
- Arab News / Reuters (2025). Somalia faces diphtheria surge amid vaccine shortages and aid cuts, 19 August 2025.
Sources
- WHO Global Health Observatory, diphtheria reported cases, Somalia · ghoapi.azureedge.net
- ReliefWeb, Somalia: Diphtheria Outbreak – Jul 2025 · reliefweb.int
- Arab News / Reuters, 19 August 2025 · arabnews.com
- WHO GHO, DTP3 coverage · ghoapi.azureedge.net
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Where this matters
- Muqdisho (Mogadishu) and BanaadirMogadishu (Muqdisho) is Somalia's capital and makes up the Banadir region, with about 2.97 million people in 20 districts.
- Dhuusamarreeb (Dhusamareb) and GalgaduudGalgaduud is a region of central Somalia in Galmudug State, with Dhusamareb (Dhuusamarreeb) as its capital and about 845,000 people.
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