At least 25,074 children are among the suspected cholera cases recorded across Nigeria as the outbreak continues to spread, with Borno State bearing the overwhelming burden, according to a new report by the United Nations Children’s Fund.

UNICEF’s latest Nigeria Humanitarian Situation Report on the cholera response recorded 57,030 suspected cases and 357 deaths across 35 states and 183 local government areas during the July-August 2026 reporting period.

Of the children affected, 12,794 are under five years old, while another 12,280 are aged between six and 14, the report said.

Borno remains the epicentre of the outbreak, accounting for 55,452 suspected cases and 308 deaths across all 23 local government areas of the state.

Maiduguri, Monguno and Jere were identified among the areas carrying the heaviest burden.

The figures underline the particular vulnerability of children, displaced people, returnees and communities already affected by years of insecurity and limited access to safe water and sanitation.

UNICEF said weaknesses in access to clean water, sanitation and chlorination, alongside shortages of health workers, treatment capacity and essential supplies, were helping to sustain transmission.

Insecurity and difficulties reaching some communities are also constraining the response, while misinformation and fear are delaying some patients from seeking treatment.

The agency said it requires $25 million in flexible funding to sustain and expand its cholera response across priority states.

So far, UNICEF reports receiving about $1.8 million, while significant financing gaps remain for treatment, surveillance, laboratory testing, water and sanitation interventions, vaccination and the supply of essential materials.

Of the required funding, $8.5 million has been prioritised for water, sanitation, hygiene and infection-prevention measures, while $4.5 million is intended for case management.

Another $3 million is required for surveillance, laboratory work and information management, with additional funding earmarked for vaccination, logistics and continued delivery of essential services.

Despite the scale of the outbreak, health authorities and humanitarian partners have expanded treatment and prevention efforts.

UNICEF said oral cholera vaccination campaigns had reached 2,804,654 people in Maiduguri and Jere, using about three million vaccine doses.

The response in Borno currently includes four Cholera Treatment Centres, 31 Cholera Treatment Units and 56 Oral Rehydration Points, providing a combined 961 treatment beds.

More than 55,000 patients have been discharged following recovery, according to the report.

Water and sanitation teams have also chlorinated 411 water points, disinfected more than 165,000 affected households and distributed water-treatment tablets to over 147,000 households.

Approximately 862,000 people have received hygiene information, while radio campaigns have carried cholera prevention messages to an estimated 3.6 million people.

The latest Nigerian figures come amid a wider cholera emergency across West and Central Africa.

UNICEF warned earlier this month that active outbreaks were accelerating in Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Republic of Congo.

The agency said flooding, displacement and movement across borders were helping the disease spread along regional transmission corridors, including the Lake Chad Basin.

UNICEF has called for additional funding, wider access to safe water, stronger disease surveillance, expanded treatment capacity and targeted vaccination to prevent further infections and deaths.

The agency also stressed the importance of early treatment. Cholera can become life-threatening rapidly when severe dehydration is not treated, making access to oral rehydration and medical care especially important in affected communities.

Nigeria’s continuing outbreak places added pressure on health systems in Borno and other vulnerable states at a time when humanitarian agencies are already responding to displacement, food insecurity and insecurity-related disruptions to essential services.