Men extract water from a well at the village of El Gel, 8 kilometres from the town of K'elafo, Ethiopia, on Jan 12, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP)

ADDIS ABABA - Close to 1 million people are at high risk of cholera disease in the 10 affected districts of southeastern Ethiopia, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA).

The UNOCHA, in its latest situation update issued late Monday, warned about the ongoing cholera outbreak as the death toll climbed to 28 in the country.

The ongoing cholera outbreak has further spread to 66 localities across eight districts in the Oromia region and two other districts in the Somali region

It said 1,055 cholera cases have been reported, including 28 associated deaths, as of Monday. It said the ongoing cholera outbreak has further spread to 66 localities across eight districts in the Oromia region and two other districts in the Somali region.

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Figures from the UNOCHA show that the caseload of affected people has increased by 30 percent since the beginning of January.

The outbreak started in Bale zone in the Oromia region and has expanded to bordering zones of West Arsi, Guji and Liban.

On Jan 13, the Oral Cholera Vaccination (OCV) campaign was officially launched in the two affected regions.

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Shortage of water, sanitation and hygiene treatment chemicals, limited amount of water storage items, insufficient water trucking capacity as well as a large number of non-functional water schemes were said to be among the major gaps affecting the response efforts.