A cholera outbreak in Sudan has killed at least 120 people and left 1,102 others with suspected infections since this year as fighting continues to hamper access to healthcare and humanitarian aid, the World Health Organization (WHO) has said.
The latest outbreak has been reported in the conflict-hit West Kordofan state, where Sudanese authorities declared an epidemic this week amid ongoing clashes between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The WHO warned that the outbreak is expanding, with nearly 300 suspected cases and three deaths already reported in neighbouring North Kordofan.
“This is Sudan’s third wave of cholera in as many years,” WHO Representative in Sudan, Dr Shible Sahbani, told reporters.
He said cholera, which previously occurred in Sudan every three years, has become almost continuous because of the conflict.
“But now the country faces near-continuous outbreaks due to the conflict, constraints in access and limited supplies,” Sahbani said.
The agency warned that the situation could worsen as Sudan enters its rainy season, when flooding typically contaminates water sources and makes it harder for aid workers to reach affected communities.
The war, now in its fourth year, has devastated Sudan’s healthcare system, leaving millions without access to essential medical services.
“Forty percent of health facilities are non-functional at all, and the remaining almost 60 percent are only partially functioning, meaning they are providing only a few services, or not enough to patients in the area,” Sahbani said.
The United Nations has also expressed concern over the deteriorating humanitarian situation in North Kordofan, where the RSF is reportedly preparing a ground assault on the state capital, El-Obeid.
UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said repeated drone strikes on the city’s power infrastructure are already “disrupting access to lifesaving drinking water and electricity”, increasing the risk of disease outbreaks and what he described as potential mass atrocities.
According to Sudanese government figures, the previous cholera outbreak, which lasted from two year’s ago till date, infected more than 124,400 people and claimed about 3,500 lives.
Aid groups estimate that more than 200,000 people may have been killed since Sudan’s conflict erupted more than three years ago, while millions have been displaced and healthcare services pushed to the brink of collapse.
