The European Commission has released €2.3 million in emergency humanitarian funding to Nigeria, Cameroon, the Central African Republic and Chad to help contain a growing cholera outbreak across West and Central Africa.
This is contained in a statement issued in Abuja.The funding comes as more than 61,000 cholera cases were reported across the African Region in the first five months of 2026, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
According to the statement, Nigeria will receive the largest share, with €1.5 million allocated to expand emergency response teams, provide cholera treatment supplies and strengthen water, sanitation and hygiene interventions.
It further said the funding will also support the treatment of public water points and household water, improve disease surveillance in hard-to-reach areas, and strengthen case management, risk communication and community awareness.
In Cameroon, €100,000 will support outbreak containment and treatment, including the deployment of additional humanitarian staff, medicines, cholera treatment units and oral rehydration points in affected communities.
The statement explained that the Central African Republic will receive €500,000 to expand case management and vaccination, improve water and sanitation facilities, strengthen disease surveillance, and support safe and dignified burials.
Chad is to receive €200,000 to improve access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene, while strengthening community-based surveillance and cholera case management.
EU Commissioner for Preparedness and Crisis Management, Hadja Lahbib, said the emergency assistance would help communities facing the greatest risks.
“Cholera is preventable and treatable. Yet it still threatens lives when people lack something as basic as safe water and healthcare,” she said.
Lahbib said the funding would enable humanitarian partners to respond quickly and contain outbreaks at a time when humanitarian needs were increasing and resources were becoming more limited.
Cholera is caused by the Vibrio cholerae bacterium and is mainly transmitted through contaminated food or water.
Severe infections can cause rapid dehydration and shock and may become fatal without prompt treatment.
The EU said the latest funding is aimed at breaking chains of transmission while improving access to healthcare, clean water and sanitation in affected communities.
