Health · Public Health & Disease · 7 hrs ago
Cholera has killed more than 3,000 people worldwide this year
The WHO says cholera has killed more than 3,000 people worldwide since the start of 2026.
Preliminary figures for the first nine months show fewer deaths than in 2025, when nearly 7,900 people died, the highest toll since 1999.
Nearly nine in 10 deaths this year have been in Africa, according to the WHO.
Cholera is a diarrheal disease that can be prevented and treated, but it can kill within hours; safe water and sanitation helped eliminate it in high-income countries generations ago.
El Niño could make conditions worse because cholera can spread when there is either too much or too little water.
The WHO and Gavi aim to cut global cholera cases by 90% by 2030 through vaccination and better hygiene.
A vaccine supply programme approved 71 million doses in 2025, and the WHO says the 2030 goal remains achievable.
Cholera has killed more than 3,000 people worldwide since the start of 2026, the World Health Organization said on November 10.
Preliminary data for the first nine months of the year showed a decline in deaths, but nearly nine out of 10 of those who died were in Africa.
The WHO said nearly 7,900 people died from cholera in 2025, the deadliest year for the disease since 1999.
The agency said El Niño could worsen the situation because cholera is exacerbated by both too much and too little water.
The WHO and Gavi aim to cut global cholera cases by 90 percent by 2030 through vaccination and improved hygiene.
- Who
- The World Health Organization reported the deaths. Lorenzo Pezzoli, a WHO official, gave details.
- What
- More than 3,000 people have died from cholera worldwide in 2026.
- When
- Since the start of 2026; the WHO announced the figure on November 10.
- Where
- Worldwide, with nearly nine out of 10 of the reported deaths in Africa.
- Why
- The sources describe cholera as a preventable and treatable infection. They say El Niño could worsen the situation because cholera is exacerbated by both excess and lack of water.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Cholera killed nearly 7,900 people, according to the WHO.
The International Coordinating Group approved the provision of 71 million vaccine doses funded by Gavi.
Preliminary data showed a decline in cholera deaths, although more than 3,000 people had died.
The WHO reported that cholera had killed more than 3,000 people worldwide since the start of the year.
- Deaths in 2026
- More than 3,000 worldwide
- Share of deaths in Africa
- Nearly nine out of 10
- Deaths in 2025
- Nearly 7,900
- Vaccine doses approved in 2025
- 71 million
- Global case-reduction goal
- 90 percent by 2030
2 sources
What people are saying
the deadliest year for cholera since 1999
nearly nine out of 10 of them in Africa
cholera is exacerbated by both an excess and a lack of water