WHO: Global cholera deaths jumped 30% in 2025 to 26-year high

On October 1, 2026 the World Health Organization released its annual cholera update, warning that 7,870 cholera deaths were reported globally in 2025 — a 30% jump from the previous year and the highest death toll since 1999. Paradoxically, overall case numbers fell about 20% to 451,499, meaning the disease is becoming more lethal where it strikes. Seven countries — Angola, Bangladesh, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, South Sudan, Sudan and Yemen — accounted for roughly 90% of all cases and deaths reported to the WHO. The African Region shouldered the heaviest burden, with cases up 34% and deaths up 58% year on year. The WHO also flagged that one in five reported cholera deaths occurred outside health facilities, suggesting many people are dying before they can reach treatment. Officials blamed conflict, climate shocks, collapsing water and sanitation systems and a chronic shortage of oral cholera vaccines, as global stockpiles continue to be strained by simultaneous outbreaks. The agency urged donors and governments to accelerate investment in clean water, early detection and vaccine production, warning that the trend risks reversing decades of progress against a disease that is both preventable and easily treatable with oral rehydration therapy.