“Cholera has returned and affects several statesmainly in the western part of the country, Darfur and Kordofan,” said Dr. Shible Sahbani, United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) representative in Sudan.
Briefing reporters in Geneva, the official reported more than 1,330 confirmed cases and 114 deaths from the disease, which is preventable but can be fatal if not treated quickly.
Why this matters
- 114 deaths confirmed so far from highly infectious cholera
- Conflict continues to block life-saving healthcare and aid
- Rainy season likely to worsen outbreak
- Millions of people remain displaced and very vulnerable
The actual death toll is likely much higher and aid agencies are deeply concerned that the disease could spread among the hundreds of thousands of people who have fled the cities and rural areas of North Kordofan.
The central Sudanese state is the epicenter of fighting between former allies the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Vulnerable to diseases
The fatality rate from cholera is already “extremely high” at 13.7 percent, and is expected to worsen when the next rainy season arrives, Dr. Sahbani explained.
Sudan is the world’s largest humanitarian crisis with more than 33 million people in need; This includes 21 million who require health services. Since the war broke out on April 15, 2023, at least 59,000 people have died.
Although some people have returned to states “where the situation is improving,” including the capital Khartoum, Dr. Sahbani stressed that 13.4 million remain displaced; nine million within Sudan and 4.6 million in neighboring countries. In addition to cholera, existing disease outbreaks include dengue, malaria, meningitis, hepatitis E and measles.
“We are particularly concerned about the spread [of cholera] “To El-Obeid in North Kordofan, where access is very limited and where the fragile health system is under increasing pressure,” the WHO representative said. “Health facilities are overwhelmed there and access to care is very, very limited.”
Call for aid reinforcement
The agency has placed enough health supplies for more than 25,000 people in El-Obeid “but I can admit that it is not enough,” said Dr. Sahbani. On Monday, WHO delivered 8.5 tons of medical supplies to Kadugli and Dilling in South Kordofan as part of an inter-agency convoy.
This was the first WHO shipment to arrive in Kadugli since December 2024 due to access blockages.
Dr Sahbani echoed UN human rights chief Volker Türk’s recent calls for the international community to prevent further atrocities in El-Obeid and a repeat of the mass killings in El Fasher when RSF forces entered the city last October.
“We ask our partners and donors to help us, firstly, to be able to access and, secondly, to be able to send enough supplies and enough facilities to El-Obeid. But we know that the situation there is very, very bad and is getting worse with an increased risk of disease outbreaks, malnutrition and violence, including violence against women and children.”
