Africa unveils continental cholera emergency preparedness, response plan

LUSAKA, Zambia

Africa on Tuesday unveiled a continental cholera emergency preparedness and response plan for the period September 2025 to February 2026.

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and World Health Organization (WHO) model aims to achieve rapid domestic resource mobilization to fund vaccines and case management supplies to combat current outbreaks.

This will help the continent's 54 member states reduce cholera deaths by 90% and eradicate cholera in at least 20 countries by 2030.

The plan was launched at Mulungushi International Conference Centre in Lusaka, Zambia's capital, during partnerships for strengthening an ecosystem approach to the production of medicines, vaccines, and other health technologies in Africa and the Gavi Leap, which took place on the sidelines of the 75th WHO Regional Committee for Africa (RC75).

Hakainde Hichilema, the African Union's (AU) global and continental cholera champion and Zambia's president, launched the plan, saying eradicating cholera on the continent is not only a health goal but also a moral imperative, a catalyst for economic growth, and a critical step toward achieving the AU's Agenda 2063.

"To succeed, we must act today for a better tomorrow, building a self-reliant Africa that produces its own vaccines and secures its future," Hichilema said.

The alarming rise in cholera cases across the continent in 2025 alone, with 213,586 cases and 4,507 deaths in 23 African Union (AU) member states, underscored the urgency of the response, said Africa CDC Director General Jean Kaseya.

Mohamed Janabi, WHO regional director for Africa, described the roadmap as a strategic and technical blueprint in direct response to a call to action, embodying AU member states' united determination to eliminate cholera as a public health threat on the continent.