The Current Scale of the Crisis
Africa is currently confronting its most severe cholera outbreak in a quarter-century. According to a briefing by the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) on November 13, 2025, the continent has recorded approximately 300,000 confirmed and suspected cases, alongside over 7,000 deaths. This data represents a staggering 30% increase in total cases compared to the previous year, highlighting a rapidly escalating public health emergency that has swept across 23 African countries. The Director General of the Africa CDC, Jean Kaseya, has stressed the urgent need to fully operationalize the Cholera Response Plan (September 2025 – February 2026) to curb this trend.
Core Drivers and Hotspots
The primary drivers of this surge are the collapse of fragile water systems and the escalating toll of conflict and displacement. Recent Africa CDC data confirms critical surges in Angola and Burundi, where limited access to clean water and sanitation are the main culprits. While the outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), one of the historically hardest-hit nations, appears to be under slight control with a recent decline in cases, the country remains a major concern due to persistent conflict and internal displacement. Conversely, the situation has reportedly improved in South Sudan and Somalia.
Overlapping Health and Humanitarian Threats
The continent’s emergency response capacity is being severely stretched by simultaneous crises. In addition to the massive cholera challenge, Ethiopia has detected eight suspected cases of a viral hemorrhagic fever in the Omo-border region, necessitating the rapid deployment of WHO and Africa CDC teams to determine the exact cause and contain transmission. Furthermore, the Mpox outbreak remains a health concern in several nations, including Kenya, Guinea, Liberia, and Ghana, further diverting limited resources from the primary cholera fight.
The Gaps in Containment and Response
Despite the mobilization of surveillance systems and the delivery of emergency supplies by the WHO and Africa CDC, the pace of containment is hindered by critical structural and financial gaps. The disease is spreading rapidly in overcrowded camps with poor sanitation, making basic control measures nearly impossible. The high case fatality rates recorded across several regions underscore deep systemic weaknesses in case management and timely access to care. Addressing this requires not only more funding but a focus on community-level Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) infrastructure.
Broader Implications for Africa and the World
The human cost of this epidemic is paralleled by its devastating developmental impact. The health crisis is now inextricably linked to issues of security and development, risking a significant backsliding on the progress Africa has made toward the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). International partners are increasingly viewing this as a complex humanitarian crisis, stressing that investment in resilient infrastructure is the only sustainable long-term solution.
A Call for Resilient Investment
Africa stands at a critical juncture. The scale of the current cholera epidemic reveals profound and persistent weaknesses in governance, health infrastructure, and climate change resilience. This crisis must serve as a turning point—not merely for controlling the current outbreak, but for galvanizing the necessary political will and international investment to build water systems and regional health cooperation that can withstand future shocks and ensure a healthier, more sustainable future for the continent.
