The Federal Government of Nigeria urgently submitted four separate emergency requests for oral cholera vaccines as the country grapples with a escalating public health crisis, a recent World Health Organisation (WHO) report has revealed.
Nigeria's Cholera Crisis in Numbers
According to the document, which was obtained on Friday, Nigeria had recorded a staggering 22,102 suspected cholera cases and 500 associated deaths as of 26 October 2025. This translates to a Case Fatality Rate (CFR) of 2.3 per cent, highlighting the severity of the outbreak.
The situation remained acute in the final weeks of the reporting period. Within the last 28 days alone, the nation logged 1,320 new cases and 33 deaths, underscoring the persistent and dangerous transmission of the disease within communities.
A Global and Regional Challenge
The WHO report paints a picture of a widespread global cholera threat. It states that extensive transmission continues internationally, with 565,404 cases and 7,074 deaths reported across 32 countries in five different WHO regions.
The Eastern Mediterranean Region was identified as the most affected area, followed closely by the African Region. In October, the African Region recorded 13,253 new cases across 13 countries, a slight decrease from the previous month. The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Angola, and South Sudan reported the highest figures on the continent.
Cumulatively, from January to late October, a total of 223,452 cases were reported across 21 African countries, with 4,955 deaths recorded in 18 of those nations.
Vaccine Requests and International Response
The Federal Government's four emergency requests were made to the International Coordinating Group (ICG) on Vaccine Provision. This occurred amidst a massive surge in global demand.
The report indicates that 50 emergency requests were submitted to the ICG in the first ten months of 2025, a sharp increase from the 20 requests made in all of 2024. Nigeria joined other nations including Angola, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, South Sudan, and Sudan in collectively requesting 67 million doses of the oral cholera vaccine.
Of these requests, 46 were approved, amounting to 49 million doses, while four were declined. The global stockpile of the Oral Cholera Vaccine averaged 7.9 million doses in October, staying above the minimum target of five million doses reserved for outbreak response.
The WHO highlighted several constraints hindering the fight against cholera, including limited vaccine supply, poor water and sanitation infrastructure, weak surveillance systems, personnel shortages, and difficulties in reaching conflict-affected areas.
In response, WHO, UNICEF, the IFRC, and partner agencies are enhancing coordination and improving forecasting to prioritize vaccine allocation based on the most urgent needs. They are also calling for increased global investment to strengthen national preparedness and response mechanisms.
In a positive development, the report noted recent support from the Government of Japan, which provided commodities, equipment, surveillance tools, and training valued at $500,000 through the WHO to bolster Nigeria's cholera response. Items worth $104,951 were subsequently handed over to the Federal Government via the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) in Abuja.
This intervention is designed to reinforce Nigeria's capacity to detect, contain, and respond promptly to outbreaks, ultimately saving lives and reducing illness across the country.
