Somalia faces diphtheria surge amid vaccine shortages and aid cuts

A nurse administers medicine to a diphtheria patient at De Martino Public Hospital, following a diphtheria outbreak, in Mogadishu, Somalia August 13, 2025. REUTERS/Feisal Omar

MOGADISHU (Reuters) -Diphtheria cases and deaths have risen sharply this year in Somalia, where the response has been curtailed by vaccine shortages and U.S. aid cuts, Somali officials said.

More than 1,600 cases, including 87 deaths, have been recorded, up from 838 cases and 56 deaths in all of 2024, said Hussein Abdukar Muhidin, the general director of Somalia's National Institute of Health.