Sudan: 'The worst epidemic in years': the country ravaged by cholera, at least 40 dead
In Sudan, dozens of people have died of cholera in one week. Embroiled in a civil war that is undermining the health system, the country is facing its worst outbreak of this diarrheal disease in years.
Since 2023, Sudan has been the hardest-hit country in the world by cholera and is currently facing a peak of the epidemic. In the Darfur region alone, MSF teams treated "more than 2,300 patients and recorded 40 deaths last week due to cholera," the NGO said on Thursday. "In addition to widespread war, the Sudanese are currently facing the worst cholera epidemic the country has seen in years," MSF said. Since July 2024, approximately 100,000 cases have been recorded in Sudan, according to the World Health Organization. More than 2,408 deaths have been recorded in 17 of its 18 states since August 2024, according to UNICEF.
The situation is most critical in Tawila, in North Darfur State, where hundreds of thousands of Sudanese fleeing the fighting have sought refuge . Deprived of clean water, healthcare, and hygiene, hundreds of thousands of Sudanese are left to fend for themselves. “We mix lemon in the water […] and drink it as medicine,” Mona Ibrahim, a displaced woman in Tawila, said this week. “We don’t have toilets; children defecate in the open.” “In Tawila, people survive on an average of just three liters of water per day, less than half the minimum emergency threshold of 7.5 liters per person per day needed for drinking, cooking, and hygiene, according to WHO recommendations,” MSF said Thursday.
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Citing a rise in cases "which exacerbates the worst effects of malnutrition," the European Union called on "all parties" to allow international humanitarian aid to enter "urgently." "Civilians must be protected and humanitarian access must be guaranteed," Brussels urged in a statement also signed by Japan, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
Cholera, a diarrheal disease transmitted by contaminated water and food, can kill within hours without treatment. It can be treated with simple oral rehydration or even antibiotics, but the war that has pitted the army against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since April 2023 has brought the health system to its knees, making these treatments often inaccessible.
Le Républicain Lorrain
