Ethiopian Informer
ADDIS ABABA (EI): Ethiopia has recorded in excess of 7,737 cholera cases and at least 74 deaths, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has disclosed. The continental public health agency said death toll from ongoing multiple cholera outbreaks across Africa has surpassed 6,700 so far in 2025.
Data from Africa CDC showed that Ethiopia is the fifth-most cholera affected country in Africa, next to South Sudan, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Angola, and Somalia, respectively.
The African Union’s healthcare agency reported that some 23 African countries have reported 294,244 cholera cases so far this year. The disease also marked a relatively higher case fatality rate of 2.3 percent when compared to the previous years. It said since the start of this year, the continent has recorded 6,795 deaths due to ongoing cholera outbreaks in different parts of the continent.
South Sudan witnessed the highest number of cholera cases at 75,649 and 1,240 deaths, while Sudan recorded the highest casualties at 1,942 along with 70,371 cases. Conflict-hit DRC have also reported 58,710 cases and 1,747 deaths so far in 2025. Angola has reported 31,143 cases and 842 deaths, while Somalia also reported 7,969 cholera cases and nine deaths, according to data from the Africa CDC.
The Africa CDC classified cholera as Africa’s leading public health concern. It said inadequate clean and safe water is said to be the major driver of recurring cholera outbreaks in Africa, which is further exacerbated by strained health systems as the continent grapples with a number of disease outbreaks and public health emergencies.
Cholera, an acute diarrhoeal infection caused by consuming contaminated food or water, results in acute watery diarrhoea and severe dehydration. The disease can be fatal within hours if untreated.
According to the Africa CDC, the number of cholera affected countries, as well as the reported cases and related deaths so far in 2025 has already surpassed last year’s figures. During the course of 2024, some 20 countries had reported a total of 254,075 cholera cases and 4,725 deaths, with a case fatality rate of about 1.9 percent, it was noted.
(Photo Credit-Africa CDC The continental public health agency said inadequate clean and safe water is said to be the major driver of recurring cholera outbreaks in Africa.)
