EU approves €1.5m emergency aid for Nigeria’s cholera response

The European Union has approved €1.5 million in emergency humanitarian aid for Nigeria’s cholera response as part of a €2.3 million package to help four West and Central African countries contain the ongoing outbreak.

The European Commission announced the funding on Monday, with the remaining €800,000 allocated to Cameroon, the Central African Republic and Chad to strengthen their respective cholera response efforts.

The intervention comes as more than 61,000 cholera cases were reported in the African Region in the first five months of 2026, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

In Nigeria, the EU said the €1.5 million would support an increase in the number of intervention teams and provide essential supplies, including cholera kits.

The funding will also support water, sanitation and hygiene interventions, including the treatment of public water points and household water, as well as intensified epidemiological surveillance in inaccessible areas.

It will further strengthen case management, risk communication and community sensitisation as part of efforts to contain the outbreak and protect vulnerable communities.

Commissioner for Preparedness and Crisis Management, Hadja Lahbib, said cholera remained preventable and treatable but continued to threaten lives where communities lacked access to safe water and healthcare.

“Cholera is preventable and treatable. Yet it still threatens lives when people lack something as basic as safe water and healthcare,” Lahbib said.

She said the emergency funding would enable humanitarian partners to respond quickly, contain outbreaks and protect communities most at risk, particularly at a time when humanitarian needs were increasing while available resources were shrinking.

Cameroon will receive €100,000 under the package to support outbreak containment and case management, including the deployment of additional humanitarian personnel, provision of essential medicines, establishment of additional cholera treatment units and oral rehydration points in the worst-affected villages.

The Central African Republic will receive €500,000 to scale up case management and vaccination, improve water, sanitation and hygiene interventions, strengthen risk communication and community engagement, and enhance surveillance and case detection.

The funding will also support dignified and safe burials in the Central African Republic.

Chad will receive €200,000 to help break the chain of cholera transmission through improved access to water, sanitation and hygiene, as well as community support for surveillance and case management.

The EU said cholera was caused by Vibrio cholerae bacteria and was most commonly transmitted through consumption of contaminated water.

It added that severe cases could result in rapid loss of body fluids, leading to dehydration and shock if not treated promptly.