The World Health Organisation has warned that the global cholera crisis is deepening, with deaths rising sharply despite fewer reported cases, as conflict, climate disasters, and poverty fuel surges across Africa and the Middle East.
Between January and mid-August 2025, at least 4,738 people died from cholera and Acute Watery Diarrhoea (AWD) across 31 countries, the WHO said Friday in a statement on its website.
While overall cases fell by 20% compared to the same period last year, deaths climbed by a staggering 46%, exposing what the agency called “serious gaps in case management and delayed access to care.”
The situation is most dire in Africa, which accounted for more than 3,700 deaths and a case fatality rate of 2.2% — more than double the global threshold of 1% that signals an emergency.
Countries such as Chad, Sudan, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo remain at the epicentre of the crisis, where fragile health systems are buckling under the weight of expanding outbreaks.
“Safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene are the only long-term and sustainable solutions to ending this cholera emergency and preventing future ones,” WHO said, warning that the risk of further spread across borders remains “very high.”
The agency linked the worsening fatality rate to conflict-driven displacement, flooding, and collapsing infrastructure in already fragile states.
Rural and flood-hit communities have been hit hardest, with patients often unable to access lifesaving rehydration and antibiotics in time.
“Every delayed hour in getting treatment can mean the difference between life and death,” one WHO official stressed, noting that six countries are already recording fatality rates above the 1% benchmark.
The WHO, alongside Africa CDC, has now launched a Continental Cholera Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan for Africa, backed by a joint Incident Management Team, to strengthen surveillance, improve access to treatment, and roll out oral cholera vaccination campaigns.
African Heads of State recently pledged to eliminate cholera by 2030, elevating the disease to a continental priority.
Still, experts warn that without urgent investment, the world risks losing ground against a preventable disease.
“Cholera is resurging in countries that had not seen outbreaks in years. This is a wake-up call. Without clean water and coordinated response, the death toll will keep rising,” the WHO said.
