Sudan is grappling with a second consecutive year of cholera outbreaks, which have claimed at least 28 lives over the past month as heavy rains continue to fall on overcrowded regions filled with those displaced by the country’s 16-month-long conflict.
Since the current wave began on July 22, 658 cholera cases have been reported across five states, according to World Health Organization (WHO) country director Shible Sahbani. Speaking from Port Sudan, Sahbani revealed that with much of the nation’s healthcare system devastated or incapacitated by war, the outbreak’s fatality rate of 4.3% is alarmingly high compared to other cholera epidemics.
“Approximately 200,000 people are at heightened risk of contracting the disease,” Sahbani warned.
The war between the General al-Burhan’s army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has triggered one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, displacing over 10 million people both within Sudan and across its borders. The conflict has severely impeded aid delivery, with the country simultaneously facing five concurrent disease outbreaks, including dengue fever and measles.
Relief efforts in the western Darfur region have been further complicated by heavy rains, exacerbating the dire conditions in camps like Zamzam, where international experts have confirmed famine and where residents remain highly vulnerable to cholera.
Health Minister Haitham Mohamed Ibrahim reported that from October 2023 to May 2024, the previous cholera wave resulted in around 12,000 cases and more than 350 deaths. Before the war, Sudan had not experienced a major cholera outbreak in nine years.
The current outbreak is primarily affecting Kassala and Gedaref states, which together host 1.2 million displaced people. In Gedaref, Reuters footage showed stagnant pools of rainwater and refuse, which attract disease-carrying insects. Local officials attribute the surge in diseases to insect infestations, contaminated water, and poor sanitation.
Displacement centers, hastily set up for those fleeing raids, are overcrowded, and their inadequate sanitation facilities have been overwhelmed by heavy rains. Cholera, which spreads through food and water contaminated by feces, thrives in these conditions.
Sahbani reported that states under RSF control, such as Khartoum and Gezira, are also seeing cholera cases, while outbreaks are expected to spread to the Kordofan and Darfur regions.
“The challenge lies in delivering supplies where they are most needed. Seasonal rains have rendered many roads impassable, and we face both security and bureaucratic obstacles,” Sahbani said.
On Friday, during a virtual briefing, he shared a rare bit of optimism, announcing that the International Coordinated Group for vaccine allocation (ICG) had approved the delivery of 455,000 cholera vaccine doses to Sudan.
Health Minister Ibrahim stated that the army-aligned government has resorted to “unconventional measures,” such as air drops, to deliver vaccines and supplies to areas controlled by the RSF and isolated army-held regions.
Both Sahbani and Ibrahim emphasized that the scale of need far outstrips the available aid, particularly as the U.N.’s humanitarian appeal for Sudan remains only about one-third funded.
