Nigeria and Niger: Cholera outbreak

Cholera is endemic in Nigeria, and there has been an increase in reported cases since June 2021. Following this rise in infections across the country, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) activated a comprehensive cholera Emergency Operations Centre on 21 June. As at 24 October, there have been 93,932 suspected cases and 3,293 associated deaths in Nigeria in 2021. These numbers put the case fatality rate at 3.5%, which is higher than the previous annual outbreaks in the past four years.

In Niger, the Minister of Public Health declared a cholera epidemic on 9 August. As at 12 October, there have been 5,343 confirmed cases and 156 deaths in 2021, for a case fatality rate of 2.9%. The first cholera cases in Niger were reported in Maradi, which is very close to the border with Nigeria. The initial cholera cases in Maradi were linked to the outbreak in northern Nigeria.

This report highlights the impact of the outbreak considering the current conflict environment and other aggravating factors.