MWE Correspondent
Sudan is facing a fast-escalating cholera emergency that has already claimed more than 2,300 lives and infected over 91,000 people since July 2024, according to the country’s Ministry of Health.
The epidemic is sweeping through a nation already torn apart by civil war, deepening the humanitarian crisis and overwhelming fragile health services.
In just one week—from July 12 to 18, 2025—health authorities reported 1,307 new cholera cases and 18 deaths across 35 localities in 12 states. The worst-hit area was Tawila in North Darfur, with 519 new infections. The Bileil locality in South Darfur recorded the highest number of deaths during the same week.
The surge follows a worrying trend. Just a week earlier, from July 5–11, 674 new infections and 13 deaths were reported, indicating a rapidly worsening situation.
The cholera outbreak is spreading rapidly due to the ongoing Sudan civil war, which erupted in April 2023 between the national army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The conflict has devastated the country’s already fragile infrastructure—damaging hospitals, water facilities, and sanitation systems.
According to UN OCHA and WHO, poor access to clean drinking water and hygiene supplies has made it nearly impossible to contain waterborne diseases like cholera, which is spread through contaminated food and water.
In the capital Khartoum, a mass oral cholera vaccination (OCV) campaign launched earlier this year showed promising results. Over 2.2 million people in high-risk areas were vaccinated in just 10 days. According to UNICEF and WHO, this helped reduce daily reported infections from 1,500 to just 10–11 per day.
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However, such efforts remain limited mostly to Khartoum and a few accessible areas. In war-torn regions like Darfur, insecurity has severely hindered medical response.
More than 13 million people are now displaced across Sudan, many living in overcrowded refugee camps with little to no access to safe water. UNHCR and IRC report that at least 60,000 cases of cholera and 1,600 deaths were recorded in the first half of 2025 alone, many involving young children.
UNICEF has warned that over 1 million children are at immediate risk of cholera, dysentery, and other waterborne diseases. The rainy season in Sudan, which typically worsens flooding and sanitation issues, could make things far worse in the coming months.
Public health officials and humanitarian organizations are calling for:
- Wider oral cholera vaccine coverage across all affected states
- Restoration of safe water systems and sanitation infrastructure
- Protection and free movement for medical and aid workers in conflict zones
- Better access to cholera treatment centers and rapid response teams
But they are also clear: humanitarian aid will only succeed if safe access can be guaranteed. Without a ceasefire and more international pressure for peace, the crisis is likely to spiral further.
Sudan’s cholera outbreak is more than just a regional emergency. It’s a warning sign of what happens when health systems collapse under the weight of war, poverty, and political instability.
A disease like cholera, which can be treated with oral rehydration salts and prevented with clean water, should not be claiming thousands of lives in the 21st century. Yet in Sudan, it is—a stark reminder of the cost of neglecting basic human rights like access to health care, safe water, and peace.
