Health Issues in Africa
Cholera and Diarrhoeal Disease
Africa is experiencing its worst cholera outbreak in 25 years: approximately 300,000 cases and more than 7,000 deaths in 2025. Cholera cases rose 141% between 2014 and 2024.
300,000
cholera cases in Africa (2025)
Africa CDC, 2025
7,000+
cholera deaths in 2025
Africa CDC
+141%
cholera case increase 2014–2024
Africa CDC
1 in 3
African hospitals lack clean running water
WHO/UNICEF
↑ Rising rapidly — worst in 25 years
Burden
Diarrhoeal diseases were the third leading cause of death in the African Region in 2019. Cholera has resurged dramatically: approximately 300,000 confirmed and suspected cholera cases and more than 7,000 deaths in 2025 — the continent’s worst cholera outbreak in 25 years.
Concentration
Sudan (71,728 cases, 2,012 deaths), Angola (33,563 cases, 866 deaths), DRC, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Zimbabwe, Burundi, Nigeria.
Drivers
- Conflict-driven displacement
- Collapse of WASH infrastructure
- El Niño floods and droughts
- OCV shortage forcing single-dose campaigns
“Africa is experiencing its worst outbreak of cholera in the past 25 years.”Africa CDC, 2025