(MENAFN) The toll of cholera infections is climbing sharply in Africa this year, with the World Health Organization (WHO) reporting over 4,200 fatalities linked to the disease in 2025 alone.

Patrick Abok, the acting regional emergencies director at the WHO Regional Office for Africa, described the continent as grappling with some of its most severe health crises in recent memory.

He highlighted the emergence of a fresh Ebola outbreak in the Kasai province of the Democratic Republic of Congo, alongside persistent battles against cholera, mpox, measles, and other infectious diseases that continue to overwhelm already vulnerable healthcare systems.

“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 stated during a virtual press briefing held from Angola, aimed at updating journalists on ongoing health emergencies in the region. “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.”

The WHO is actively backing cholera treatment hubs by supplying medical resources and spearheading vaccination campaigns, having administered upwards of 15 million vaccine doses so far this year.

Cholera’s spread has been exacerbated by poor sanitation and flooding driven by climate change, affecting numerous countries including Chad, Sudan, Ethiopia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

This bacterial illness stems from ingesting water or food contaminated with the pathogen, underscoring the urgent need for improved water safety and hygiene infrastructure to stem the outbreak.

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