KIGALI, Rwanda: The World Health Organization (WHO) said cholera continues to spread across Africa, with more than 190,000 reported infections and over 4,200 deaths so far this year.
Patrick Abok, acting regional emergencies director at the WHO Regional Office for Africa, told a virtual news conference from Angola that the continent is facing “some of the toughest health emergencies in recent years.”
“This year alone, more than 190,000 people have contracted cholera and over 4,200 have died from 23 countries, of which 16 still have active outbreaks,” Abok said on Thursday. “Access to safe water and hygiene facilities remains inadequate, and therefore cholera continues as a serious public health risk in places already facing a humanitarian crisis.”
Cholera has swept through several African nations, including Chad, Sudan, Ethiopia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, fuelled by poor sanitation and climate-related flooding.
The WHO said it is supporting treatment centers, supplying medicines and equipment, and facilitating mass vaccination campaigns, with over 15 million doses administered in 2025.
In addition to cholera, the region is grappling with outbreaks of mpox, measles, and a new Ebola flare-up in Kasai province of the DRC, further straining fragile health systems.
