Khartoum: Sudan's Ministry of Health has raised alarm over a sharp rise in cholera infections, reporting 2,700 new cases and 172 deaths in the past week, as the country’s ongoing conflict continues to cripple vital infrastructure.
According to a statement released on Tuesday, the vast majority—about 90 percent—of the new cases emerged in Khartoum state. The capital region has faced severe disruptions to water and electricity supplies, primarily due to recent drone attacks attributed to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The RSF has been locked in a violent power struggle with the Sudanese army since April 2023.
Cholera cases have also been confirmed in several other regions, including the country’s southern, central, and northern areas.
Though cholera has long been endemic to Sudan, outbreaks have intensified and become more deadly since the conflict began. The war has devastated the country's already fragile health, water, and sanitation infrastructure, creating conditions ripe for the rapid spread of disease.
The situation worsened earlier this month when the RSF launched a series of drone strikes across Khartoum, targeting key infrastructure, including three power stations. These strikes led to widespread blackouts and halted the operation of water networks. Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) reported that the loss of power rendered water treatment facilities inoperable, leaving residents to rely on unsafe water sources.
“Without electricity, water treatment stations can no longer draw clean water from the Nile,” said Slaymen Ammar, MSF’s medical coordinator in Khartoum.
Cholera, a potentially fatal illness caused by consuming contaminated food or water, is treatable and preventable under normal conditions. But access to clean water, sanitation, and medical care has become increasingly scarce as the war grinds on.
The World Health Organization has described Sudan’s health system as being on the verge of collapse. The country’s doctors’ union says that nearly 90 percent of hospitals have been shut down at some point during the conflict due to attacks, looting, and ongoing violence.
Now in its third year, the war in Sudan has claimed tens of thousands of lives, displaced over 13 million people, and triggered the world’s largest hunger and displacement crisis.
