In January 2025, the Ministry of Health declared a cholera outbreak in the capital, Luanda, the first recorded in Angola since 2018. As cases spread to multiple provinces, the ministry asked MSF to support the national response. Our teams arrived in April and focused on reducing deaths by improving access to care, strengthening infection prevention and control measures, and working with communities to decrease transmission.

Based on epidemiological data and a lack of resources in the province, MSF prioritised Cuanza Sul, where people were arriving at health facilities with advanced dehydration and the case fatality rate was among the highest in the country. Working closely with provincial and municipal health authorities, we helped set up and reorganise cholera treatment centres and oral rehydration points in Sumbe, Gabela, Seles, Porto Amboim, Boa Entrada, Quilenda, Conda, and other municipalities. We trained health staff in treatment and infection prevention and control, repaired beds, improved patient flow, and ensured safe water and waste management within treatment sites.

Beyond health facilities, our teams worked with community leaders, volunteers, and local organisations to share practical prevention messages, promote early care-seeking, and distribute hygiene items to people discharged from treatment. These activities helped reduce delays in accessing care and promoted safer practices at home.

We also supported the oral cholera vaccination campaign in Cuanza Sul, helping design community mobilisation strategies, train volunteers and health promoters, and coordinate messaging so people understood when and where to get vaccinated.

In other provinces, including Huíla, Cuanza Norte, Malanje, and Namibe, we conducted assessments and supported authorities by providing training, water and sanitation services, and supplies for outbreak preparedness. In Namibe, we reinforced surveillance, community engagement, and treatment, to help contain the outbreak.

Overall, our response, which ran until July, focused on providing practical, lifesaving care, and supporting people and communities to protect themselves from cholera.