Geneva, 31 August 2025 (WAL) – The World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Friday that cholera outbreaks caused by conflict and poverty are worsening in several countries, posing a major global public health challenge. Reports for this year recorded 409,000 cholera cases and 4,738 deaths in 31 countries from 1 January to 17 August 2025, with mortality rates exceeding 1% in six countries. The Eastern Mediterranean region recorded the highest number of cases, while Africa had the highest number of deaths.

The organization stated that “conflicts, mass displacement, natural disasters, and climate change spread cholera, especially in rural areas and flood-affected regions with weak infrastructure and limited access to healthcare, making outbreak control more complex and difficult. Access to clean drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene is the only sustainable long-term solution to end the current cholera emergency and prevent future outbreaks.”

WHO revealed that cholera has appeared in countries that had not reported large numbers of cases for years, such as the Democratic Republic of Congo and Chad, which recorded the highest mortality rates worldwide at 7.7% and 6.8% respectively. Sudan was considered the most affected country globally, with over 2,400 deaths recorded in 17 of its 18 states over one year.

Since 30 June, the disease has spread widely in the troubled Darfur region of Sudan, especially in high-density displaced persons camps, with thousands of cases reported in North, Central, and South Darfur states, and deaths exceeding hundreds.

Last Wednesday, Chad’s Ministry of Health announced 68 cholera deaths since the outbreak was declared in a camp for Sudanese refugees in late July. Last Thursday, local officials reported that a cholera outbreak in Zamfara state in northwestern Nigeria claimed eight lives and infected over 200 people across 11 districts.

Cholera infection typically causes severe diarrhea due to contaminated water or food with bacteria and is easily treated by rehydrating the patient, but it can lead to death within hours if untreated.