The World Health Organisation (WHO) has disclosed that cholera has killed more than 3,000 people worldwide since the beginning of 2026, with Africa accounting for nearly 90 per cent of the recorded deaths.
The global health agency, which raised the alarm on Tuesday, said the disease remained a major public health concern despite a decline in fatalities recorded during the first nine months of the year.
According to the WHO, cholera claimed nearly 7,900 lives in 2025, making it the deadliest year for the disease since 1999.
Lorenzo Pezzoli, the WHO lead for epidemic-prone bacterial diseases, said the latest figures showed that the burden of the disease remained heavily concentrated in Africa.
He warned that the situation could worsen with the prevailing El Niño weather pattern, noting that extreme weather conditions, including flooding and water shortages, could create favourable conditions for cholera outbreaks.
Cholera is an acute diarrhoeal infection commonly spread through the consumption of food or water contaminated with the bacterium responsible for the disease. Although preventable and treatable, it can cause death within hours if patients do not receive prompt medical attention.
Pezzoli, however, expressed optimism that the global target of reducing cholera cases by 90 per cent by 2030 remained achievable.
The target, being pursued by the WHO in collaboration with the vaccine alliance, Gavi, is expected to be achieved through mass vaccination programmes, improved access to safe drinking water, and better sanitation facilities.
He noted that cholera had been eliminated from high-income countries several generations ago through the provision of clean drinking water and modern sewage systems, stressing that similar interventions could help vulnerable countries overcome the disease.
“The 2030 goal is achievable because the work is already underway,” Pezzoli said.
He highlighted the efforts of the International Coordinating Group on Vaccine Provision, which approved the supply of 71 million cholera vaccine doses in 2025, funded by Gavi.
The WHO also said vaccines and rapid diagnostic tests were increasingly reaching outbreak-hit communities, enabling health workers to identify infections and respond more quickly.
In addition, the agency and its partners are supporting affected countries to identify locations where cholera outbreaks occur repeatedly and develop targeted prevention and response strategies.
The WHO identified Angola, Bangladesh, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, South Sudan, Sudan, and Yemen as seven countries that accounted for approximately 90 per cent of global cholera cases and deaths in 2025.
Despite the progress recorded through vaccination and other interventions, Pezzoli warned that current efforts were still inadequate to eliminate the disease.
“The collective response is undeniably bearing fruit, but… it remains insufficient,” he said.
He called for increased international support and stronger public health interventions to help affected countries achieve the 2030 elimination target.
The WHO said the ultimate objective was to ensure that cholera no longer constituted a public health threat in any of the affected countries by the end of the decade.
