Touadéra is in Bimbo

By Michel AZOULAY | LNC

(Bimbo, 19 September 2026 | LNC) It was during an official visit to Bimbo this morning that Touadéra officially declared the cholera epidemic in the country to be over. Whilst the announcement is intended to be reassuring, it is already raising many questions amongst the population. On the ground, the claim of total eradication comes up against the harsh structural realities of a region where access to safe drinking water remains a luxury and where general hygiene conditions remain extremely precarious.
According to official figures released by the Head of State during his address, the course of the epidemic paints a worrying picture: 728 suspected cases have been formally recorded by epidemiological teams. A total of 46 deaths have been reported. The nature of the crisis: Of these fatalities, 31 occurred directly within communities (outside medical facilities), compared with just 15 recorded in hospital. This high proportion of deaths at home highlights the population’s persistent mistrust or the inability to access emergency care centres quickly, often due to a lack of transport or local healthcare infrastructure. Touadéra nevertheless stated that the epidemic is now considered to be fully under control in the country’s main hotspots: Bimbo, Bangui 1, Bangui 2 and Mbaïki. Historically known as the ‘dirty hands' Cholera highlights the social divisions in the CAR. Whilst the disease has been eradicated in the West for decades thanks to the widespread availability of sewerage systems and running water, it continues to ravage sub-Saharan Africa. As long as the acute scarcity of safe drinking water and overcrowding characterise the outlying neighbourhoods of Bangui and Bimbo, any medical victory will remain temporary. The presidential announcement, whilst scientifically grounded (based on the absence of new cases for several weeks), is being met with caution by local observers, who point out that fundamental improvements to sanitation are the only true long-term remedy. The announcement of the end of cholera does not, however, signify a return to calm for the Central African healthcare system. President Touadéra used his address in Bimbo to issue an urgent call for general vigilance and strict adherence to hygiene rules. Attention is now turning to the southern border: the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is facing an active threat from the Ebola virus. Given the porous nature of the borders and the intensity of trade flows along the Oubangui River, the risk of a new major crisis being imported is deemed extremely high by the authorities, who fear that a healthcare system barely recovered from cholera may have to face one of the continent’s deadliest viruses.



LNC
Date: 19 September 2026
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