The World Health Organization (WHO) has sounded the alarm over a deepening health and hunger crisis in war-torn Sudan.
Since July last year, nearly 100,000 cholera cases have been reported across all Sudanese states, with outbreaks worsening after devastating floods.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that the conflict, raging since April 2023 between General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan’s army and rival Rapid Support Forces, has driven the nation into a spiral of disease, displacement and starvation.
Tens of thousands have died in the fighting, and millions more face hunger, with reports from besieged El-Fasher revealing people eating animal feed to survive.
Around 770,000 children under five are expected to suffer severe acute malnutrition this year, many beyond the reach of aid agencies.
Although oral cholera vaccinations have been conducted in several regions, including Khartoum, Tedros cautioned that progress remains fragile due to surveillance gaps and restricted access.
The recent floods are expected to further fuel cholera, malaria, dengue and other deadly diseases, compounding an already dire humanitarian disaster.
Cholera, an intestinal infection spread through contaminated food and water, can kill within hours without treatment, though it is preventable and curable with timely care.
Since 2021, the world has seen a surge in cholera cases and their geographical spread, making Sudan part of a broader global trend.
WHO-supported nutrition centres have treated over 17,000 severely malnourished children with medical complications in just six months, but funding shortfalls hinder wider relief.
The agency has received less than one-third of the money it requested for urgent health assistance, leaving critical needs unmet.
Tedros stressed that without peace, Sudan will face more hunger, more displacement and more disease, warning that the crisis is far from over.
