GENEVA, 11th November, 2026 (WAM) -- Ending cholera as a public health threat by 2030 is within reach, as every cholera death can be prevented with tools that already exist, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Tuesday.
Last year was the deadliest for cholera since 1999, with almost 7,900 deaths, Dr. Lorenzo Pezzoli, WHO lead for epidemic-prone bacterial diseases, told journalists in Geneva.
Most of the deaths happened on a community level, before patients could access healthcare.
Fatalities dipped down in the first nine months of 2026, but more than 3,000 have still died of the preventable and treatable disease – nearly nine in ten of them in Africa.
Where there is clean water, basic sanitation and a nearby health centre, patients can recover, Dr. Pezzoli said. But in a crowded camp or a village cut off by conflict, cholera can turn deadly within hours, and El Niño could make matters worse, since both too much and too little water fuel the disease.
WHO has already provided 71 million doses of cholera vaccine.
Sufficient clean water and sanitation facilities would end cholera for good, Dr. Pezzoli said – but not where conflict is raging.