A fast-spreading cholera outbreak in Sudan has left at least 172 people dead and over 2,500 infected within just one week, according to the country’s health authorities.
The epicentre of the outbreak is Khartoum and its twin city, Omdurman, although infections have been reported in several provinces nationwide.
The spike in cases, which began in mid-May, is overwhelming a healthcare system already stretched thin by ongoing conflict and severe resource shortages.
International medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has reported treating nearly 2,000 suspected cases in the past week alone.
Joyce Bakker, Sudan coordinator for MSF, said the situation in our treatment centres is heartbreaking, noting that several patients are arriving too late to survive.
“We don’t know the true scale of the outbreak, and our teams can only see a fraction of the full picture,” she said.
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Bakker emphasised the urgent need for a coordinated humanitarian response, including improved water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services, as well as the establishment of additional treatment facilities.
Earlier this year, a cholera outbreak in White Nile State claimed 92 lives and infected over 2,700 people, highlighting the recurring nature of the disease in Sudan.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) describes cholera as a rapidly progressing, water-borne illness that causes acute diarrhoea, potentially leading to death within hours if untreated.
It is commonly spread through the consumption of contaminated food or water.
Sudan Health minister speaks
Sudan’s Health Minister, Haitham Ibrahim, attributed the surge in cases in Khartoum to the recent return of displaced citizens. He noted that the sudden population increase has put immense pressure on the already fragile water infrastructure in the capital.
The outbreak unfolds against the backdrop of a broader humanitarian emergency in Sudan. Since conflict erupted in 2023, more than 20,000 people are believed to have been killed, and over 14 million have been displaced.
The United Nations has labelled Sudan’s situation the largest humanitarian crisis in the world, driven by war, disease, hunger, and a lack of access to clean water.
The crisis in Sudan is part of a wider cholera wave sweeping across Africa, affecting 18 countries,s including Angola, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to WHO data.
