As the nation struggles with an increasing number of cholera deaths, the Federal Government has issued four urgent requests for cholera vaccines to the International Coordinating Group on Vaccine Provision.
As of October 26, 2025, cholera had killed at least 500 people nationwide, according to data, highlighting the need to strengthen epidemic response operations.
With 565,404 cases and 7,074 deaths reported across 32 countries in five WHO regions, the worldwide cholera outbreak is still severe, according to the report, which was exclusively received from the World Health Organization on Friday.
The report states that the regions with the biggest numbers are the Eastern Mediterranean, Africa, South-East Asia, the Americas, and the Western Pacific.
During epidemics, the ICG’s primary responsibility is to make licensed vaccinations for cholera, meningitis, yellow fever, and Ebola virus illness accessible and equitable.
The OCV can aid in the prevention and management of cholera, which is still a major public health concern in Nigeria.
According to the research, there were “22,102 cholera cases, 500 deaths, with a Case Fatality Rate of 2.3 percent” in Nigeria alone. Nigeria reported 1,320 cholera cases, 33 fatalities, and a 2.5% case fatality rate in the final 28 days of October.
The African Region recorded 13,253 new cases of cholera in 13 countries in October 2025, a 19% drop from September. South Sudan (1,334), Angola (3,628), and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (4,633) reported the most instances.
In addition, there were 272 cholera-related fatalities, a 24% drop from the previous month. The Democratic Republic of the Congo (134), Angola (49), and Nigeria (33) had the greatest recorded mortality tolls.
There were 223,452 cases of cholera reported in 21 African nations between January 1, 2025, and October 26, 2025. South Sudan (78,772), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (61,089), and Angola (32,975) reported the greatest numbers of cases. In 18 nations, 4,955 deaths were documented during that time. The Democratic Republic of the Congo (1,825), South Sudan (1,272), and Angola (858) had the highest mortality tolls, according to WHO.
Regarding immunization, the World Health Organization reported that in October, there were an average of 7.9 million doses of the oral cholera vaccine in stock worldwide.
It also stated that the stockpile level stayed above the five million doses that should always be on hand for outbreak response throughout October.
In the first ten months of 2025, the International Coordinating Group (ICG) on Vaccine Provision received fifty new emergency requests for 67 million doses for single-round campaigns from Angola (three), Chad (four), Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo (six), Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia (two), Ghana (four), Kenya, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Nigeria (four), South Sudan (11), and Sudan (10).
Nineteen countries (Angola, Bangladesh, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Haiti, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, South Sudan, Sudan, Yemen, and Zambia) have carried out 64 reactive vaccination campaigns in 2025, according to the report. Forty-six requests and 49 million OCV doses were approved by the ICG.
Major obstacles to combating the cholera outbreak were listed in the WHO study, including insufficient vaccine supply, inadequate WASH infrastructure, gaps in surveillance, a lack of personnel, and challenges in reaching areas affected by violence.
It cautioned that transmission across several regions is still fueled by the effects of climate change, porous borders, and overburdened national health systems.
WHO, UNICEF, IFRC, and partners are increasing forecasting, enhancing coordination, and prioritizing vaccination distribution based on urgent requirements in order to solve these issues.
In order to improve national readiness and reaction, they are also advocating for ongoing foreign investment and technical assistance.
In order to improve Nigeria’s response to cholera epidemics, the Japanese government has contributed $500,000 worth of supplies, equipment, surveillance tools, training, and emergency preparedness assistance in partnership with the World Health Organization.
Life-saving supplies worth $104,951 were sent to the Federal Government as part of the intervention via the Nigeria Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Abuja.
The WHO claims that the assistance is intended to improve Nigeria’s capacity to identify, contain, and react quickly to outbreaks, hence lowering sickness and mortality.
