The European Commission has allocated €2.3 million in emergency humanitarian funding to Nigeria, Cameroon, the Central African Republic and Chad to support efforts to contain the ongoing cholera outbreak in the four countries.

The funding comes as cholera continues to pose a major public health threat across Africa, with more than 61,000 cases reported in the African Region in the first five months of 2026, according to the World Health Organisation.

A statement issued on Monday by the Press and Information Officer of the EU Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Modestus Chukwulaka, said the intervention would support emergency response, disease surveillance, treatment and water, sanitation and hygiene measures.

Nigeria will receive the largest share of the funding, with €1.5 million earmarked to strengthen the country’s response to the outbreak.

The Nigerian allocation will support the deployment of additional intervention teams and the provision of essential supplies, including cholera kits.

It will also fund water, sanitation and hygiene interventions, including the treatment of public water points and household water supplies.

The EU funding will further help intensify epidemiological surveillance, particularly in hard-to-reach areas, while strengthening case management, risk communication and community sensitisation.

Cameroon will receive €100,000 to support outbreak containment and case management.

The funding will provide additional staff for humanitarian partners, essential medicines, cholera treatment units and oral rehydration points in the worst-affected communities.

The Central African Republic will receive €500,000 to scale up cholera case management and vaccination, alongside water, sanitation and hygiene interventions.

The funds will also strengthen risk communication and community engagement, improve surveillance and case detection, and support safe and dignified burials.

Chad is set to receive €200,000 to help break the chain of cholera transmission through improved access to water, sanitation and hygiene services.

The funding will also strengthen community-based surveillance and case management.

Commenting on the intervention, EU Commissioner for Preparedness and Crisis Management, Hadja Lahbib, said cholera remained preventable and treatable but continued to threaten lives where access to safe water and healthcare was limited.

“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 EU was providing the emergency funding at a time when humanitarian needs were increasing while available resources were declining.

“At a time when humanitarian needs are growing and resources are shrinking, Europe is not looking away. This emergency funding will help our partners act quickly, contain the outbreaks and protect the communities most at risk,” she added.

Cholera is an acute bacterial infection caused by Vibrio cholerae and is commonly transmitted through the consumption of contaminated food or water.

Severe cases can lead to rapid loss of body fluids, dehydration and potentially fatal shock if treatment is not provided promptly.

The European Commission said the latest funding would enable humanitarian partners to respond more rapidly, strengthen prevention and treatment measures, and protect vulnerable communities from further spread of the disease.