Africa: WHO Reports Latest Global Trends in Cholera, Meningitis and Plague
[WHO] Cholera deaths increased by 30% in 2025, despite fewer cases being reported to the World Health Organization (WHO).
In 2025, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported a concerning rise in cholera deaths, up 30% from the previous year, despite fewer cases being documented to the organization. Of the 451,499 cholera cases reported across 47 countries, 7,870 resulted in death, marking the highest annual toll since 1999. The majority of these cases and deaths were concentrated in seven countries: Angola, Bangladesh, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, South Sudan, Sudan, and Yemen.
The WHO African Region faced the greatest burden, with a 34% increase in cases and a 58% rise in deaths compared to 2024.
Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, Executive Director of WHO's Health Emergencies Programme, emphasized that cholera deaths are avoidable with existing prevention and treatment methods. The concentration of cases in a few countries highlights the potential impact of increased investment in safe water, sanitation, hygiene, disease surveillance, community engagement, vaccination, and quality care.
Cholera, caused by the Vibrio cholerae bacteria, spreads through contaminated food and water. While treatable and preventable, severe dehydration can lead to fatal outcomes. More than one in five reported cholera deaths occurred outside health facilities, indicating insufficient timely access to care. In cases treated in health facilities, the global fatality rate was below 1%, except in 12 countries where it exceeded this threshold.
Global oral cholera vaccine production more than doubled from 2022 to 2025, increasing from around 30 million doses to 80 million annually. The International Coordinating Group (ICG) on Vaccine Provision approved 71 million doses for affected countries, including 20 million for preventive vaccination. Meningitis also remains a significant health issue in Africa, particularly in the meningitis belt stretching from Senegal to Ethiopia.
In 2025, 24 of the 26 countries in the region reported 21,526 suspected cases and 971 deaths, with a fatality rate of 4.5%. Vaccination campaigns, including a nationwide rollout of the meningococcal A conjugate vaccine in Niger, aim to combat the disease. Surveillance and rapid response to outbreaks remain crucial to controlling plague, which caused 3,847 suspected cases and 423 deaths in 2025, primarily in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Madagascar.
Written by urgent.news from AllAfrica Health's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
