Sudan’s Worst Cholera Outbreak in Years Kills 40 Amid Escalating Conflict

The Darfur region is facing a double catastrophe as Sudan grapples with its deadliest cholera outbreak in years, with at least 40 deaths reported in the past week alone.

Casablanca – Sudan is battling a severe cholera outbreak, with health officials reporting at least 40 deaths in the Darfur region over the past week. The crisis, described as “beyond urgent” by aid workers, is unfolding amid more than two years of brutal fighting between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Since Sudan’s Ministry of Health declared the outbreak one year ago, the country has recorded 99,700 suspected cases and over 2,470 deaths. The epicenter of the epidemic is Darfur, a region already devastated by war, mass displacement, and the collapse of basic infrastructure.

In Tawila, North Darfur, residents survive on just three liters of water per day, often relying on contaminated water sources. “Just two weeks ago, a body was found in a well inside one of the camps. It was removed, but within two days, people were forced to drink from that same water again,” said a local health worker.

Health facilities across Darfur are overwhelmed, with Tawila Hospital’s cholera treatment center, designed for 130 patients, forced to accommodate over 400 in early August, leaving patients on extra mattresses on the floor.

Aid officials are calling for a rapid scale-up of healthcare, water sanitation, and mass vaccination campaigns. “The international response must match the urgency of this catastrophic situation,” said a humanitarian coordinator in Sudan. “Survivors of war must not be left to die from a preventable disease.”

Sudan’s ongoing war, which erupted in Khartoum in April 2023, has killed over 40,000 people, displaced more than 12 million, and left millions more on the brink of famine.

Source: Morocco World News – Sudan’s Worst Cholera Outbreak in Years Kills 40 Amid Escalating Conflict