The Federal Government has submitted four emergency requests to the International Coordinating Group on Vaccine Provision for cholera vaccines as Nigeria struggles with a rising death toll from the disease.
Data from across the country indicate that cholera has claimed no fewer than 500 lives as of October 26, 2025, highlighting the urgent need to strengthen outbreak response measures.
An exclusive report obtained from the World Health Organisation on Friday notes that the global cholera surge remains severe, with 565,404 cases and 7,074 deaths recorded across 32 countries in five WHO regions.
The report indicates that the Eastern Mediterranean Region has the highest figures, followed by the African Region, the South-East Asia Region, the Region of the Americas, and the Western Pacific Region.
The primary role of the ICG is to ensure the availability of, and equitable access to, licensed vaccines for cholera, meningitis, yellow fever, and Ebola virus disease during outbreaks.
Cholera continues to pose a major public health challenge in Nigeria, and the OCV can play a critical role in its prevention and control.
The report highlighted that in Nigeria alone, there were “22,102 cholera cases, 500 deaths, with a Case Fatality Rate of 2.3 per cent. In the last 28 days of October, Nigeria recorded 1,320 cholera cases, 33 deaths, and a Case Fatality Rate of 2.5 per cent.”
“In October 2025, the African Region reported 13,253 new cholera cases across 13 countries, marking a 19 per cent decrease compared with September. The highest numbers of cases were reported in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (4,633), Angola (3,628), and South Sudan (1,334).
“Additionally, there were 272 cholera-related deaths— a 24 per cent decrease compared with the previous month. The highest numbers of deaths were reported in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (134), Angola (49), and Nigeria (33).
“From January 1, 2025, to October 26, 2025, a total of 223,452 cholera cases were reported across 21 countries in the African Region. The highest numbers of cases were reported in South Sudan (78,772), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (61,089), and Angola (32,975). During the same period, a total of 4,955 deaths were reported in 18 countries. The highest numbers of deaths were recorded in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (1,825), South Sudan (1,272), and Angola (858),” WHO stated.
Regarding vaccination, the WHO reported that the global Oral Cholera Vaccine stockpile averaged 7.9 million doses in October.
It added that the stockpile level remained above the target of five million doses—the amount that should always be available for outbreak response—throughout October.
“Fifty new emergency requests were submitted to the International Coordinating Group (ICG) on Vaccine Provision in the first ten months of 2025— compared to twenty in 2024— by 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), collectively seeking 67 million doses for single-round campaigns.
“Forty-six requests and 49 million OCV doses were approved, while four were not approved by the ICG.
“In 2025, nineteen countries (Angola, Bangladesh, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Haiti, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, South Sudan, Sudan, Yemen, and Zambia) have conducted 64 reactive vaccination campaigns,” the report added.
The WHO report also outlined key challenges in tackling the cholera surge, including limited vaccine supplies, weak WASH infrastructure, surveillance gaps, shortages of staff, and difficulties reaching conflict-affected populations.
It warned that climate impacts, porous borders, and overstretched national health systems continue to drive transmission in multiple regions.
To address these issues, WHO, UNICEF, IFRC, and partners are enhancing forecasting, improving coordination, and prioritising vaccine distribution according to urgent needs.
They are also advocating for sustained international investment and technical support to strengthen country-level preparedness and response.
Recently, the Government of Japan, in collaboration with the World Health Organisation, donated $500,000 worth of commodities, equipment, surveillance tools, training, and emergency preparedness support to help Nigeria combat cholera outbreaks.
As part of this support, life-saving commodities valued at $104,951 were handed over to the Federal Government through the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention in Abuja.
According to the WHO, the initiative aims to enhance Nigeria’s capacity to detect, contain, and respond swiftly to outbreaks, thereby reducing illness and fatalities.