Cholera kills more than 3,000 this year, WHO says

Cholera has killed more than 3,000 people worldwide since the start of 2026, the World Health Organization said Tuesday, while insisting that a target to cut global cases by 90 percent by 2030 remains achievable.

Lorenzo Pezzoli, WHO lead for epidemic-prone bacterial diseases, said deaths in the first nine months of 2026 had declined from 2025 but that more than 3,000 people had still died from the preventable and treatable diarrheal infection. He said nearly nine out of 10 of those deaths were in Africa.

Pezzoli said cholera killed nearly 7,900 people in 2025, making it “the deadliest year for cholera since 1999”.

WHO also warned that the current El Nino weather pattern could worsen outbreaks because cholera can be fuelled by both flooding and water shortages.

The UN health agency and the vaccine alliance Gavi aim to reduce global cholera cases by 90 percent by 2030 through mass vaccination campaigns and improved access to clean water and sanitation.

Pezzoli said the goal was achievable because work was already under way, including vaccine provision. He said the International Coordinating Group on Vaccine Provision approved the supply of 71 million doses last year, funded by Gavi.

WHO said seven countries — Angola, Bangladesh, the DR Congo, Nigeria, South Sudan, Sudan and Yemen — accounted for about 90 percent of global cholera cases and deaths last year.