CAIRO: A cholera outbreak in Sudan has claimed 120 lives and left 1,102 more people with suspected infections since May, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
The outbreak has spread through isolated, conflict-affected areas where access to health care remains severely limited.
Sudan’s health system has been devastated by more than three years of fighting between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), making it increasingly difficult to contain disease outbreaks.
This marks the country’s third cholera outbreak in three years, emerging just two months after health authorities declared the previous wave over in March.
During the last outbreak, which lasted from July 2024 to March 2026, government data recorded more than 124,400 infections and approximately 3,500 deaths.
Endemic to the northeast African country, cholera used to come “in a cyclic manner every three years,” the WHO’s Sudan chief Dr. Shible Sahbani told reporters.
But now the country faces near-continuous outbreaks “due to the conflict, constraints in access and limited supplies,” he said.
Sudan to face sharp rise in cholera cases in rainy season
Sudan is expected to face a sharp rise in cholera cases as the rainy season intensifies in the coming weeks. Millions of people lack access to clean drinking water, while heavy rains are likely to further hamper humanitarian access and disease control efforts.
The Sudanese government this week declared the latest cholera outbreak in West Kordofan, a key conflict zone.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the outbreak appears to be spreading, with nearly 300 suspected cholera cases and three reported deaths in neighbouring North Kordofan. The United Nations has warned that the RSF is preparing a major ground offensive against the state capital, El-Obeid.
UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said on Tuesday that drone attacks targeting the city’s power stations are disrupting access to essential electricity and safe drinking water, increasing the risk of widespread civilian suffering and potential mass atrocities.
More than three years into the conflict, aid organisations estimate that the war may have claimed over 200,000 lives. The fighting has also devastated Sudan’s health care system, leaving nearly all hospitals across the country either fully or partially out of operation.
“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.
