Africa: WHO Reports Latest Global Trends in Cholera, Meningitis and Plague

What the report says

The World Health Organization has reported new global surveillance trends showing a sharp rise in cholera deaths in 2025, even as the number of reported cases fell. According to the WHO update published in Geneva and distributed by AllAfrica, 47 countries notified the agency of 451,499 cholera cases and 7,870 deaths last year, the highest annual cholera death toll WHO has recorded since 1999. The agency said these figures likely understate the true burden because many infections are never reported.

WHO said seven countries — Angola, Bangladesh, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, South Sudan, Sudan and Yemen — accounted for about 90% of reported cases and deaths. The African Region recorded the heaviest impact, with cases up 34% and deaths up 58% compared with 2024. WHO officials said the pattern highlights the need for safer water, sanitation, hygiene, vaccination, surveillance and faster access to care. The organization also noted that more than one in five reported cholera deaths occurred outside health facilities.

The same WHO release also updated trends on meningitis and plague. In Africa’s meningitis belt, 24 of 26 countries reported 21,526 suspected cases and 971 deaths in 2025, while vaccination continued to reduce meningococcal A disease. For plague, WHO said suspected human cases were reported from 10 countries between 2019 and 2025, with most cases coming from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Madagascar. Together, the updates underscore that epidemic-prone bacterial diseases remain a continuing public health challenge, especially in parts of Africa.