Cholera: 7,870 deaths worldwide in 2025, the worst toll since 1999, with Africa on the front line

Cholera killed 7,870 people worldwide in 2025, with 451,499 cases reported by 47 countries: this is the highest annual toll since 1999, according to the situation report published by the World Health Organization on September 30, 2026, and relayed by AllAfrica.

The WHO African region bears the heaviest burden, with a 34% increase in cases and a 58% increase in deaths compared to 2024. About 90% of cases and deaths are concentrated in seven countries: Angola, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, and South Sudan, in addition to Bangladesh and Yemen.

"No one should die of cholera today," summarizes Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu of the WHO, as quoted in the document.

A disease of lack of water, not fate

Cholera is treatable: rapid rehydration is sufficient in the vast majority of cases. Dying of cholera in 2026 therefore signals a lack of clean water, sanitation, and accessible care—an underinvestment, not a fatality. Three of the five most affected African countries, the DRC, Sudan, and South Sudan, are at war, and their water networks bear the scars.

Climate accelerates the spread

Southern Africa provides an illustration of this. Between January 1 and February 15, 2026, five countries—Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe—reported 4,320 cases and 56 deaths, compared to 586 cases and 11 deaths during the same period in 2025, a more than sevenfold increase, according to the WHO Regional Office for Africa. Mozambique accounted for 90% of the cases in the area, following tropical cyclones that affected more than 700,000 people.

"The sharp increase in cholera cases is a clear reminder of how climate shocks intensify risks," said Dr. Marie Roseline Darnycka Belizaire, head of emergencies at WHO Africa. The continent, which emits a marginal share of greenhouse gases, is thus paying the health bill for climate change.

Vaccines: supply is rising, access remains the issue

Global production of the oral cholera vaccine increased from 30 million doses in 2022 to 80 million in 2025. Regarding meningitis, 24 African countries reported 21,526 suspected cases and 971 deaths, a case fatality rate of 4.5%; the Men5CV vaccine, effective against five serogroups, was deployed in 2025, with Niger leading the first national campaign.

Africa's capacity to produce and distribute its own vaccines remains the challenge for the coming years, at a time when global health aid budgets are shrinking.