WHO Raises Alarm Over Cholera Outbreak in Conflict-Torn Sudan

“Cholera has re-emerged and is now impacting multiple states, primarily across the western regions of Darfur and Kordofan,” said Dr. Shible Sahbani, the World Health Organization (WHO) Representative to Sudan, during a briefing in Geneva.

The official reported over 1,330 confirmed infections and 114 fatalities from the disease, which is preventable yet potentially fatal without prompt treatment.

Why this matters

• 114 confirmed deaths from highly infectious cholera so far
• Conflict still blocking lifesaving healthcare and aid
• Rainy season likely to make outbreak much worse
• Millions still displaced and highly vulnerable

The actual death toll is likely significantly higher, and humanitarian organizations fear the illness may propagate among the hundreds of thousands who have escaped towns and rural areas in North Kordofan.

This central Sudanese state serves as the focal point of clashes between former allies, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Vulnerable to disease

Dr. Sahbani noted that the cholera case fatality rate is already “extremely high” at 13.7 percent and is anticipated to rise with the approaching rainy season.

Sudan is experiencing the world’s largest humanitarian emergency, with more than 33 million people requiring assistance, including 21 million in need of health services. Since the conflict began on 15 April 2023, at least 59,000 lives have been lost.

While some residents have returned to areas “where the situation is improving,” such as the capital Khartoum, Dr. Sahbani emphasized that 13.4 million remain displaced—9 million within Sudan and 4.6 million in neighboring countries. Alongside cholera, ongoing 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 the access is very limited and where the fragile health system is under increasing strain,” the WHO representative stated. “Health facilities are overwhelmed there and access to care is very, very limited.”

Aid boost call

WHO has pre-positioned sufficient medical supplies for over 25,000 individuals in El-Obeid “but I can admit that it’s not enough”, Dr Sahbani said. On Monday, WHO dispatched 8.5 tonnes of medical cargo to Kadugli and Dilling in South Kordofan as part of an inter-agency convoy.

This marked the first WHO shipment to reach Kadugli since December 2024, due to access restrictions.

Dr. Sahbani reinforced recent appeals from UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk, urging the international community to avert further atrocities in El-Obeid and prevent a recurrence of the mass killings seen in El Fasher when RSF forces entered last October.

“We call for our partners and donors to help us to be able first to access and second to be able to send enough supplies and enough facilities in El-Obeid. But we know that the situation there is very, very bad and it’s worsening with higher risk of disease outbreaks, malnutrition, violence, including violence against women and children.”

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