Cholera deaths surge in Africa despite global case decline

Africa accounted for more than two-thirds of reported global cholera deaths last year, as deaths from the disease in the region rose sharply despite a decline in reported cases worldwide, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday.

The WHO African Region recorded a 34 percent increase in reported cholera cases and a 58 percent increase in deaths compared with 2024, giving the region the largest burden globally, according to the WHO's latest update on cholera, meningitis and plague.

Globally, 47 countries reported 451,499 cholera cases and 7,870 deaths to the WHO last year. Deaths increased by 30 percent despite fewer cases being reported, making 2025 the year with the highest number of annual cholera deaths reported to the WHO since 1999.

The figures reflect reported surveillance data rather than the actual global burden of cholera, which the WHO said is likely to be substantially higher because many cases go unreported.

Seven countries — Angola, Bangladesh, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, South Sudan, Sudan and Yemen — accounted for around 90 percent of all reported cholera cases and deaths globally.

"The rise in cholera deaths is a reminder of the challenge ahead," Chikwe Ihekweazu, executive director of WHO's Health Emergencies Programme, said. "No one should be dying from cholera today when we have the tools to prevent and treat this disease," he said.

Ihekweazu said the concentration of cases and deaths in a small number of countries showed where targeted investments could have the greatest impact, particularly in safe water, sanitation and hygiene.

"Combined with stronger disease surveillance, community engagement, vaccination and access to quality care, these investments can help turn this trend around," he said.