Adis Abeba, June 5, 2025 (Lusa) - Twenty African countries, including Portuguese-speaking Angola and Mozambique, have committed to eliminating cholera by 2030, following an online meeting organised by the African Union, the organisation announced in a statement on Thursday.
According to the African Union (AU) statement, 20 member states affected by cholera met online on Wednesday, following a call from the African Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC Africa) and under the leadership of Hakainde Hichilema, President of Zambia and holder of the portfolio for the fight against cholera in the organisation.
The meeting was attended by ten heads of state and vice presidents, representing Angola, Zambia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Namibia, Ghana, Malawi, Mozambique, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe, as well as deputy prime ministers and ministers of health, finance, water, and sanitation.
"Global health partners were also present, including the World Health Organisation (WHO), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), Gavi [Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation], the Global Fund, among others, to form a united front in the fight against cholera," the AU said in a statement.
According to the organisation, by May this year, Africa had recorded around 130,000 cases of cholera and 2,700 deaths, representing 60% of global cases and 93.5% of deaths related to the disease.
"Angola, DRC, Sudan and South Sudan remain among the most severely affected countries," it said.
In his opening speech, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, chair of the AU commission, called for courageous leadership and systemic change.
"Only with the direct involvement of our heads of state can we eliminate cholera by 2030. A real turning point is needed on the continent — with strong national leadership, domestic investment, integrated action and regional coordination. We must also break the cycle of dependency by accelerating vaccine production and ensuring equitable access to life-saving tools," said the commission chair.
The Angolan head of state, João Lourenço, current AU chair, also highlighted the importance of investment, stressing that to tackle this disease, there must be robust investment in water, sanitation and health systems.
"This is our moment to turn historic challenges into real opportunities for economic and social development," said João Lourenço.
The Director-General of CDC Africa, Jean Kaseya, stressed that "Africa needs 54 million doses of oral cholera vaccine per year, but receives just over half."
"This gap is unacceptable. It is urgent to increase local production and ensure supply," he stressed.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus emphasised that the organisation will intensify its support to affected countries.
African leaders committed to operationalising the Continental Incident Management Support Team (IMST), based on the successful response to monkeypox (mpox), "to strengthen cross-border surveillance," according to the statement.
At the national level, they committed to establishing Presidential Task Forces on Cholera to strengthen intersectoral coordination, mobilise domestic resources and implement accountability mechanisms, it said.
"The meeting represented a turning point in the African response to cholera, based on political ownership at the highest level, multisectoral collaboration and continental solidarity," it concluded.
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