Cholera patients being treated at a Médecins Sans Frontières field facility in Zimbabwe. New analysis indicates that Southern and Eastern Africa are facing the deadliest cholera outbreak in a decade. Copyright: Sokwanele (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
Cholera remains the most significant public health threat in Africa, with a sharp rise in cases and fatalities recorded since the start of the year, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) announced on Thursday.
To date, 23 affected countries have reported 239,754 cholera cases and at least 5,274 deaths—surpassing the total number of cholera-related deaths recorded in all of 2024. The case fatality rate stands at 2.2 per cent, reflecting the persistent severity of the outbreaks.
Yap Boum II, deputy incident manager for mpox at the Africa CDC, underscored the alarming trend during an online media briefing.
“This is much higher than what we had in 2024 in terms of the number of deaths,” he said. “A total of 23 countries are currently affected, which highlights the need for a stronger multi-sectoral approach.”
The Africa CDC also expressed concern over the broader increase in public health emergencies across the continent. So far in 2025, more than 166 moderate-to-high risk events have been reported. Boum II linked the rise to several factors, including climate change and regional instability.
“The number of high-risk and moderate public health events keeps increasing. With the current trend, we expect to have much more than what we actually had in 2024,” he said.
“This is the result of quite a number of drivers, including climate change and the crisis that we see in Sudan, which has accelerated the spread of cholera in Sudan, Chad, and South Sudan.”
Cholera is an acute diarrheal illness caused by ingestion of contaminated food or water. It can lead to severe dehydration and death within hours if not treated promptly.
Recurring outbreaks in Africa are primarily driven by limited access to clean water, a challenge compounded by conflict, weak health systems, and the strain of responding to multiple disease outbreaks simultaneously.
Health officials are urging coordinated action to improve water and sanitation, strengthen health infrastructure, and deploy oral cholera vaccines to control transmission.
