When Dr. Abdou Sebushise rises every morning in his home in Rwanda, he is motivated not only by the community members he serves but by a promise he made to himself more than 30 years ago.
“When I was a 9-year-old in 1994, I lived in Goma, a city in the Democratic Republic of the Congo” (DRC), explains Dr. Sebushishe, Senior Health Advisor with International Medical Corps. “It was filled with refugees who were fleeing the genocide against the Tutsis in Rwanda. Water became scarce, and help came too slowly. People went to Lake Kivu for everything—washing their clothes, drinking and going to the bathroom. This caused a devastating cholera outbreak. Thousands of people died very quickly.”
“I remember seeing bodies wrapped on the side of the roads,” Dr. Sebushishe continues. “The crisis also touched my family. My father became friends with some Rwandan refugees, and we hosted their family. Some of them got sick with cholera and passed away. Seeing their suffering up close changed me. I felt, even as a child, that I had to do something to help people. I told myself, ‘I have to become a doctor so that next time, no one dies from a similar disease.’ That experience shaped my whole life.”
In 2019, Dr. Sebushishe joined International Medical Corps, where he leads emergency response and training programs in countries around the world—including during the most recent Ebola outbreak in the DRC, which began in September 2025 and was declared over on December 1, following 42 days with no new confirmed cases.
“When we landed in September in Kasai province, the outbreak’s epicenter, we learned that a number of cases were reported in one remote village,” Dr. Sebushishe explained. “International Medical Corps was asked to deploy to that village and support the local healthcare workers. However, the health facility’s staff had left because they were afraid of the virus. Only the head nurse remained.”
“I met this brave nurse, who was caring for all the patients she could on her own,” he continues. “I shared my experience in Liberia in 2014 during an Ebola outbreak, when I was afraid, but I was able to overcome my fear through training and learning from experienced health workers how to stay protected during an outbreak. We worked with this head nurse to bring her staff back to the hospital, assuring them that we would provide the training and protective equipment they needed to stay safe. Within two days, the staff had returned, and we were training them. This rural health facility is the only one providing primary healthcare services in the area, so it was critical that it remained open.”
An outbreak of an infectious disease can decimate a population if left unaddressed. Whether battling Ebola in the DRC, measles in Sudan or cholera across Africa and the Middle East, International Medical Corps responds with proven protocols and the tools that communities need to recover and prepare for the next emergency. Here are three more stories about the infectious disease outbreaks communities face—and what International Medical Corps is doing to help.
Battling Measles in Sudan
A dangerous measles outbreak currently is spreading in Central Darfur state in Sudan, putting children at risk amid what is already a dangerous conflict and the mass displacement it is causing. The outbreak began in Umdukhun locality in late December 2025 and has since spread to Golo locality, where cases have continued to rise. As of early March, surveillance data from International Medical Corps–supported health facilities show 369 suspected measles cases in Umdukhun and 366 in Golo, with three reported deaths. Most cases are among children under 5. Overcrowded living conditions, population movement and low routine immunization coverage are accelerating the spread of this highly contagious disease—and increasing the risk to families who already have limited access to care.
A community member named Hassan and his family, who live in Umdukhun locality, were affected by the outbreak. Hassan’s son contracted measles and was admitted to Umdukhun Hospital for treatment. Thankfully, after five days, Hassan’s son recovered and was discharged. Our teams are doing their best to ensure the same is true for every measles patient who comes to them for care.
“Measles is a preventable disease—yet in Central Darfur, ongoing displacement, overcrowding and gaps in routine immunization continue to put children under 5 at serious risk,” explains Dr. Selma Saadeldeen, International Medical Corps’ Medical Coordinator in Sudan. “Sustained vaccination and vigilant surveillance are essential to protect these communities.”
With a longstanding presence in Central Darfur, International Medical Corps’ teams are treating measles cases at Golo Hospital and Umdukhun Hospital, strengthening disease surveillance through community‑based case-finding and supporting essential primary and secondary health services for displaced people and host communities. We are also supporting vaccination efforts—even as shortages of vaccines and medical supplies strain our ability to do so. Continuing these efforts and sustaining community engagement is critical to controlling the outbreak and preventing additional cases.
“Our medical teams remain committed to providing lifesaving care and helping to stop the spread of this outbreak, no matter the conditions,” adds Dr. Saadeldeen.
Combatting Cholera in Chad
In mid-July 2025, a cholera outbreak was declared at Dougui refugee camp in Chad—and it soon became clear that containing it was not going to be easy. Approximately 20,000 Sudanese refugees were living in the camp. Soon, the outbreak spread further into the country, to Barh El Gazel, Guéra, Hadjer Lamis and Sila provinces. Dr. Cimanuka Germain, Field Site Coordinator with International Medical Corps at Dougui refugee camp, knew he had to act quickly.
The roots of the outbreak were visible everywhere. Families struggled to find safe drinking water—often buying it from vendors who relied on unsafe wells or boreholes, or collecting stagnant water for cooking and washing. Children played in these pools, and soaring temperatures created ideal conditions for bacteria to thrive. For Dr. Germain, addressing cholera meant addressing daily life itself.
International Medical Corps began delivering clean water directly to the camp, giving families a safer option, but providing clean water was not enough.
“We recruited community health workers and trained them on cholera prevention, proper hygiene practices and how to recognize symptoms,” explains Dr. Germain. “After training, we deployed them throughout the camp. Some focused on education, others on decontaminating households and others on surveillance. We went door-to-door, talking with families and identifying cases early.”
Alongside these efforts, Dr. Germain assembled a multidisciplinary rapid-response team—doctors, nurses, laboratory technicians, mental health counselors, sanitation specialists and psychosocial support staff. Together, they established a cholera treatment center where suspected cases could be treated immediately. He and his team later invited patients who recovered to join the response themselves—sharing their stories, monitoring their neighborhoods and helping protect others from the disease. On December 15, 2025, Chad officially declared the end of the cholera outbreak, following 28 days with no new confirmed cases.
Helping Ali Recover from Cholera
Ali is the youngest of seven siblings. In mid-February 2025, the toddler slept peacefully as his mother, Sara,* left him with his siblings early in the morning to go to a nearby agricultural field, where she works as a farmer. But when she returned home at noon, her heart sank. Ali lay unconscious on the bed, his clothes soaked from severe diarrhea. The hours that followed tested his mother’s strength and hope. Ali had more than five episodes of diarrhea every hour, which took a toll on his fragile body and left him unresponsive. Ali’s mother carried Ali for more than an hour to reach Rababah Health Center, which is supported by International Medical Corps. A doctor there quickly assessed Ali’s condition. Though lab tests confirmed malaria, Ali also had cholera symptoms, which accounted for his extreme diarrhea.
Our team immediately admitted him to the health center’s diarrheal treatment center, where Ali received IV fluids and oral rehydration solution (ORS) at regular intervals. After two days, his health had improved enough to go home. The team also educated Ali’s mother on preparing ORS at home, keeping food covered at all times, chlorinating water and maintaining good hygiene. “International Medical Corps restored my hope at a time when I hardly had any left, and I’m deeply grateful,” she says.
When disease outbreaks strike, International Medical Corps works to keep lifesaving care within reach for families who have nowhere else to turn. We help health facilities stay open during surges of illness, ensure access to clean water and safe sanitation to reduce the spread of disease, and treat malnutrition—one of the greatest threats to a child’s ability to survive infection. At the same time, we bring healthcare directly to displaced families living in crowded conditions and train community health workers so that local health systems are better prepared to protect their communities long after the crisis has passed.
Learn more about infectious diseases and how we battle them.
*Name has been changed to protect privacy.