The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has warned that cholera is spreading rapidly across West and Central Africa, with active outbreaks in six countries and millions of children at growing risk.
UNICEF said Nigeria has the largest outbreak in the region, with more than 50,000 cumulative cases and 338 deaths recorded since Jan. 1, 2026, with Borno State accounting for a major outbreak as of the end of July.
“Nigeria currently accounts for the largest reported cholera outbreak in the region, with more than 50,000 cumulative cholera cases and 338 deaths reported since 1st January 2026 in all the country with major outbreak in Borno State as of end July 2026.”
The agency said outbreaks were also accelerating in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Republic of Congo, Chad, Cameroon and the Central African Republic (CAR).
It expressed concern that children were bearing a disproportionate share of the disease burden and constituted a high percentage of those affected.
“This outbreak is no longer confined by borders”, says UNICEF Regional Director for West and Central Africa, Gilles Fagninou.
“It is moving along shared rivers, trade routes and population movements, putting millions of children at risk.
“Every new infection is a reminder that millions of children are still being denied one of their most basic rights: safe water. We know how to stop cholera.
“What is needed now is urgency, the investment and the regional solidarity to act before more children lose their lives to a disease that is entirely preventable.”
UNICEF is seeking 15 million dollars in additional funding to scale up its response over the next six months.
The agency said seasonal rains, flooding, population displacement and cross-border transmission were accelerating the spread of the waterborne disease, which is preventable and treatable.
Fagninou said flooding was contaminating water sources, damaging sanitation infrastructure and cutting off access to vulnerable communities.
UNICEF and its partners, working with national and sub-national authorities, are expanding access to safe water and sanitation, strengthening disease surveillance, supplying essential health materials and supporting oral cholera vaccination campaigns.
The agency is also coordinating with the World Health Organisation and Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention along key transmission routes.
