LONDON: Hunger and disease are spreading in war-torn Sudan, with famine already present in several areas, 25 million people acutely food insecure, and nearly 100,000 cholera cases recorded since last July, the World Health Organization said on Friday.
Sudan’s conflict between the army and rival Rapid Support Forces has displaced millions and split the country into rival zones of control, with the RSF still deeply embedded in western Sudan, and funding cuts are hampering humanitarian aid.
“Relentless violence has pushed Sudan’s health system to the edge, adding to a crisis marked by hunger, illness, and despair,” WHO Senior Emergency Officer Ilham Nour said in a statement.
BACKGROUND
Cholera has hit a camp for Darfur refugees in neighboring eastern Chad, the UN refugee agency said on Friday.
“Exacerbating the disease burden is hunger,” she said, adding that about 770,000 children under 5 years old are expected to suffer from severe acute malnutrition this year.
Cholera has also hit a camp for Darfur refugees in eastern Chad, the UN refugee agency said on Friday.
The World Health Organization said nearly 100,000 cholera cases had been reported in Sudan since July last year.
An outbreak in the Dougui refugee settlement has so far resulted in 264 cases and 12 deaths, said Patrice Ahouansou, UNHCR’s situation coordinator in the region, leading the agency to suspend the relocation of refugees from the border with Sudan to prevent new cases.
“Without urgent action, including enhancing access to medical treatment, to clean water, to sanitation, to hygiene, and most importantly, relocation from the border, many more lives are on the line,” Ahouansou told a briefing in Geneva.
Oral cholera vaccination campaigns had been conducted in several states, including the capital Khartoum, he told a press conference with the Geneva UN correspondents’ association ACANU.
“While we are seeing a declining trend in numbers, there are gaps in disease surveillance, and progress is fragile,” he said.
“Recent floods, affecting large parts of the country, are expected to worsen hunger and fuel more outbreaks of cholera, malaria, dengue, and other diseases.”
Cholera is an acute intestinal infection that spreads through food and water contaminated with bacteria, often from feces. It causes severe diarrhea, vomiting, and muscle cramps.
Cholera can kill within hours when not attended to, though it can be treated with simple oral rehydration and antibiotics for more severe cases.
There has been a global increase in cholera cases and their geographical spread since 2021.
“In Sudan, unrelenting violence has led to widespread hunger, disease, and suffering,” said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
“Cholera has swept across Sudan, with all states reporting outbreaks. Nearly 100,000 cases have been reported since July last year.”
As for hunger, Tedros said there were reports from El-Fasher, the besieged capital of North Darfur state, that people were eating animal feed to survive.
“In the first six months of this year, nutrition centers supported by WHO have treated more than 17,000 severely malnourished children with medical complications. But many more are beyond reach,” Tedros warned.
The UN health agency’s efforts were being hindered by limited access and a lack of funding, he added, with the WHO having received less than a third of the money it had appealed for to provide urgent health assistance in Sudan.
The WHO director-general said that as long as the violence continues in Sudan, “we can expect to see more hunger, more displacement and more disease.”
