Somalia is facing a sharp rise in diphtheria cases and deaths this year, driven by vaccine shortages and reductions in U.S. and international aid, health officials said.

More than 1,600 cases and 87 deaths have been reported in 2025, compared with 838 cases and 56 deaths in all of 2024, according to Hussein Abdukar Muhidin, director of Somalia’s National Institute of Health. Diphtheria, a bacterial disease that primarily affects children, causes severe throat swelling, fever, and breathing difficulties but is preventable with vaccination, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.

While childhood immunisation rates have improved over the last decade, hundreds of thousands of children remain unvaccinated. After fleeing conflict in central Somalia three months ago, Deka Mohamed Ali’s four children contracted diphtheria. Her 9-year-old daughter recovered, but her 8-year-old son died, and two younger children are receiving treatment in Mogadishu.