{
  "id": 10886734,
  "title": "Africa: Cholera Deaths Soared in 2025, Africa Having 90% of cases - UN",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/30/africa-cholera-deaths-soared-in-2025-africa-having-90-of-cases-un-10886734",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-09-30T07:00:55.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "AllAfrica",
    "slug": "allafrica",
    "url": "https://allafrica.com/stories/202609300113.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Cholera deaths surged in 2025, with Africa bearing a staggering 90% of cases, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Despite fewer cases being reported to WHO, global cholera deaths rose by 30% from 2024, marking the highest annual death toll since 1999. Of the 47 countries reporting cholera cases, seven – Angola, Bangladesh, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, South Sudan, Sudan, and Yemen – accounted for nearly 90% of all reported cases and deaths.\n\nDr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, WHO's executive director of the Health Emergencies Programme, emphasized that no one should die from cholera when effective prevention and treatment tools exist. The WHO noted that the figures represent reported surveillance data, not the actual global burden, which is estimated to be significantly higher due to many unreported cases. The African region saw a 34% increase in cases and a 58% increase in deaths compared to 2024.\n\nIhekweazu stressed that targeted investments in safe water, sanitation, and hygiene, along with enhanced disease surveillance, community engagement, vaccination, and access to quality care, could mitigate this trend. Cholera, caused by Vibrio cholerae bacteria, spreads through contaminated food and water, especially in areas lacking safe water and sanitation. While preventable and treatable, it can be fatal if severe dehydration is not promptly treated.\n\nIn the African meningitis belt, from Senegal to Ethiopia, 24 of the 26 countries reported 21,526 suspected cases and 971 deaths in 2025, resulting in a 4.5% fatality rate. Compared to the previous year, cases declined by 5.9%. For the human plague, 10 countries reported suspected cases, with six confirming cases, leading to 3,847 suspected cases and 423 deaths between 2019 and 2025, with an 11% fatality rate. Most cases were recorded in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Madagascar, where the plague remains endemic.",
  "summary": "[allAfrica] Geneva -- Cholera deaths increased globally by 30 percent in 2025, despite fewer cases being reported to the World Health Organization, with five countries in Africa accounting for around 90 percent of all cases, the WHO said on Tuesday.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "AllAfrica Health",
        "title": "Africa: Cholera Deaths Soared in 2025, Africa Having 90% of cases - UN",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/30/africa-cholera-deaths-soared-in-2025-africa-having-90-of-cases-un",
        "published": "2026-09-30T07:00:55.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}