Sidama Crisis Monitor

Joint Statement by the Sidama National Liberation Front (SNLF) and Sidama Human Rights Council (SHRC)

30 November 2025 (For Immediate Release)

The Sidama National Liberation Front (SNLF) and Sidama Human Rights Council (SHRC) issue this urgent statement regarding the outbreak of Marburg Virus Disease (MVD) in Ethiopia.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the outbreak in Ethiopia was officially confirmed on 14 November 2025, following suspected viral haemorrhagic fever cases in Jinka town, South Omo Region. To date, the virus has reportedly claimed the lives of 8 (eight) people including one individual who tested positive for virus and referred from Jinka to Hawassa Referral Hospital and later died in the city of Hawassa, the capital of Sidama National Regional State. More than 206 suspected contacts are currently quarantined and kept in isolation for further monitoring, and the number is expected to increase rapidly unless corrective measures are put in place immediately to end the outbreak.

Given the high population density, weak healthcare infrastructure, and pernicious governance challenges in Sidama National Regional State, the risk of rapid transmission remains extremely high. Therefore, we are calling for unconditional urgent action!

The MVD is a severe and often fatal illness caused by the Marburg virus, a member of the Filoviridae family, which also includes the deadly Ebola virus.  Symptoms include sudden high fever, severe headache, muscle pain, vomiting, diarrhoea, and internal bleeding. Fatality rates range between 24% and 88%, depending on outbreak conditions and medical responses.

Transmission Methods

The Marburg virus spreads through the following routes:

• Direct contact with blood, secretions, organs, or other bodily fluids of infected individuals.
• Contact with contaminated surfaces, clothing, or medical equipment.
• Initial infections often linked to exposure to fruit bats (Rousettus aegyptiacus), the natural reservoir of the virus.

The Marburg virus does NOT spread through the following routes:

• Not airborne like influenza, flu or COVID-19 Viruses.
• Not spread through casual contact such as sharing food, water, or proximity without direct exposure to bodily fluids.
• Not transmitted by mosquitoes or other insects.

Protection and Prevention Methods

Protection and prevention measures should focus on the following:

• Immediate isolation of suspected and confirmed positive cases in designated isolation or treatment centers.
• Strict hand hygiene: frequent washing with soap and water or recommended alcohol-based sanitizers.
• Use of protective equipment (gloves, masks, gowns) by healthcare workers and caregivers.
• Avoiding direct contact with the bodies of deceased patients due to MVD and strictly practicing Safe burial to prevent transmission.
• Community awareness campaigns to educate the public on the signs and symptoms and prevention methods of MVDs.

Currently, there are no approved therapeutics or licensed vaccines for Marburg virus disease. Understanding and strictly sticking to prevention methods described above, timely case management, surveillance, and contact tracing are critical first steps to prevent transmission. Additionally, to date supportive clinical care remains the cornerstone of treatment.

Call to Action

The SNLF and SHRC urge all residents in Sidama and the wider Ethiopian population to remain vigilant carefully following the guidance provided by medical professionals. Anyone experiencing the signs and symptoms of MVD including sudden fever, severe weakness, vomiting, or unexplained bleeding should immediately contact health care providers for an urgent medical treatment. Communities must cooperate fully with health care professionals to contain the outbreak and prevent loss of lives.

We also call upon the Ethiopian authorities to cooperate with the Sidama regional health professionals to support the identification, isolation and containment of the spread of the virus. We call upon the international organisations, mainly the World Health Organization (WHO) whose current Secretary General willingly offered to help to end the outbreak of MVD in Ethiopian through the provision of the necessary professional and technical expertise and financial support. We call upon the Ethiopian authorities that are attempting to conceal this outbreak to refrain from this sort of unacceptable attitude instead abiding by the international norm to transparently and collaboratively address this urgent public health crisis to save the lives of our people.    

Finally, we would like to reiterate that societal awareness, prevention, and solidarity are critical to stopping the spread of Marburg virus in Sidama and across Ethiopia.

Joint Statement by SNLF and SHRC for Immediate Issuance

November 30, 2025