At least 10 people have died and more than 40 others have contracted cholera in West Kordofan’s Al-Udayyah locality over two days, according to the Kordofan Human Rights Observatory.
Observatory spokesperson Murtada Ahmed told Radio Dabanga that the deaths and infections were recorded on Sunday and Monday, warning that the toll could rise as the outbreak continues to spread.
Ahmed said Al-Udayyah faces a severe shortage of medicines and life-saving medical supplies, particularly intravenous fluids and essential treatments for cholera patients.
Large parts of West Kordofan remain difficult to access because of the continuing conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces. The insecurity has obstructed deliveries of medicine, food and humanitarian assistance to affected communities.
Public-health risks have also increased during the rainy season, with stagnant water, deteriorating sanitation and growing numbers of flies and mosquitoes creating conditions conducive to the spread of disease.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the observatory said cholera had spread to Um Jak, Humeir, Um Rigeil and Shaq al-Kadad in Al-Udayyah. It reported that healthcare services and intravenous fluids needed to treat acute watery diarrhoea were almost entirely unavailable because of limited humanitarian intervention and access restrictions.
The group urged local, regional and international humanitarian organisations to press the warring parties to open safe corridors for medical and food deliveries. It warned that delays in responding to the outbreak would result in further infections and deaths.
The World Health Organization said more than 2,600 cholera cases had been reported across several Sudanese states by early August, identifying the Kordofan region as a centre of the latest outbreak.
UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said the organisation and its partners were expanding treatment services, vaccination programmes and the distribution of medical supplies.
Sudan has also begun a campaign to vaccinate 928,000 people against cholera in West Darfur and West Kordofan. The campaign covers Al-Nahud, Dibibad and Al-Fula in West Kordofan, alongside preventive vaccination efforts in Kass in South Darfur and Tawila in North Darfur.
