The World Health Organization (WHO) has published its global cholera statistics for 2024, showing an increase in both the number of people who fell sick and those who died from the disease.

Reported cholera cases rose by 5 percent, and deaths by 50 percent in 2024 compared to 2023, with more than 6000 people dying from a disease that is both preventable and treatable. While these numbers are themselves alarming, they are underestimates of the true burden of cholera.

Sixty countries reported cases in 2024, an increase from 45 in 2023. The burden of the disease remained concentrated in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, which collectively accounted for 98 percent of all reported cases.

The case fatality ratio for Africa increased from 1.4 percent in 2023 to 1.9 percent in 2024, revealing critical gaps in the delivery of life-saving care, and signaling the fragility of many health systems, along with challenges in access to basic health services.

Conflict, climate change, population displacement, and long-term deficiencies in water, sanitation, and hygiene infrastructure continue to fuel the rise of cholera, a disease caused by the bacterium, vibrio cholerae, which spreads rapidly through feces-contaminated water.

To combat cholera, governments, donors and communities need to ensure people have access to safe water and hygiene facilities, have accurate information on how to protect themselves, and rapid access to treatment and vaccination when there are outbreaks. Strong surveillance and diagnostics will help guide these responses. Further investment in vaccine production is also needed.