Wednesday, May 28, 2025 - A cholera outbreak has claimed the lives of over 170 people across Sudan in just one week, as the country’s health system continues to collapse under the weight of a prolonged civil war.
Sudan’s health ministry reported more than 2,700 new
infections and 172 deaths within the past week, with 90 percent of cases
recorded in Khartoum state.
In recent weeks, Khartoum has suffered major disruptions to
water and electricity supplies following drone strikes attributed to the
paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which have been engaged in conflict
with the Sudanese army since April 2023.
Cases of cholera have also emerged in the southern, central,
and northern regions of the country.
Cholera is endemic to Sudan, but outbreaks have intensified
since the war began, devastating already fragile water, sanitation, and
healthcare infrastructure. The ministry had previously recorded 51 deaths and
over 2,300 infections in a three-week period, also largely concentrated in
Khartoum.
Earlier this month, the RSF reportedly launched drone attacks
across Khartoum, targeting three power stations before being pushed out of
their remaining strongholds in the city. These attacks crippled the capital’s
electricity grid, leaving water treatment facilities non-functional and forcing
residents to rely on contaminated sources.
“Water treatment stations no longer
have electricity and cannot provide clean water from the Nile,” said Slaymen
Ammar, medical coordinator for Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in Khartoum
Bashir Mohamed, a resident of Omdurman—a city within greater
Khartoum—said his family has been without electricity for nearly two weeks. “We
now fetch water directly from the Nile, buying it from donkey carts that bring
it in barrels,” he said.
At Al-Nao Hospital in Omdurman, one of the few health
facilities still operational, a doctor said residents have resorted to drinking
untreated Nile water due to the shutdown of pumping stations. This, he noted,
is the primary driver of the outbreak's rapid spread.
Medical staff are overwhelmed, with some patients lying on
hospital floors due to the lack of space and personnel. The local emergency
response room has issued an urgent call for volunteer support.
“The number of patients exceeds the
hospital’s capacity,” said one emergency worker, who spoke anonymously. “There
are not enough medical staff. Some patients are lying on the floors in hospital
corridors.”
Cholera, a severe diarrhea illness caused by ingesting
contaminated water or food, can be fatal within hours if left untreated.
Despite this, it is easily preventable and curable when clean water,
sanitation, and medical care are accessible.
The World Health Organisation has warned that Sudan’s
healthcare system has been pushed to the brink. The doctors’ union estimates
that up to 90 percent of the country’s hospitals have been forced to shut down
at some point due to the conflict, with many being looted, bombed, or occupied.
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