Cholera kills 40 in Sudan’s worst outbreak in years

A Cholera isolation ward in Kalma camp, South Darfur. (Photo: Sudan Reeves)

By Mary Wambui
Thursday, August 14, 2025

Since the Ministry of Health declared the outbreak a year ago, there have been 99,700 suspected cases and more than 2,470 related deaths, as of August 11.

At least 40 people have died in Sudan over the past week in the country's worst cholera outbreak in seven years.

The deaths add to the growing suffering in the country that is currently facing a severe civil war.

According to Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), emergency coordination mechanisms that can provide healthcare, improve water and sanitation services, and begin vaccination campaigns in affected areas are direly needed.

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Since the Ministry of Health declared the outbreak a year ago, there have been 99,700 suspected cases and more than 2,470 related deaths, as of August 11.

"In the Darfur region alone, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) teams have treated over 2,300 patients and recorded 40 deaths in the past week for cholera, at facilities run by the Ministry of Health," the organisation said on Thursday.

A shortage of water across Darfur has made it impossible to follow essential hygiene measures, such as washing dishes and food. According to MSF, the situation is most extreme in Tawila, North Darfur state, where 380,000 people have fled to escape ongoing fighting around the city of El Fasher, according to United Nations data.

"In Tawila, people survive with an average of just three litres of water per day, which is less than half the emergency minimum threshold of 7.5 litres needed per person per day for drinking, cooking, and hygiene, as stipulated by the WHO. As cholera cases rise and resources run out, clean water and sanitation services are urgently needed to prevent more deaths," MSF added.

MSF said by the end of July, after one month of responding, its teams had treated over 2,300 cholera patients in collaboration with the Ministry of Health at the cholera treatment centre at Tawila Hospital.

Though officially equipped with 130 beds, the centre had to accommodate 400 patients during the first week of August, thus overwhelming the facility and forcing staff to add extra mattresses on the floor to cope.

"In displacement and refugee camps, families often have no choice but to drink from contaminated sources and many contract cholera. Just two weeks ago, a body was found in a well inside one of the camps. It was removed, but in two days, people were forced to drink from that same water again," said Sylvain Penicaud, MSF project coordinator in Tawila.

Cholera has also been reported in Golo, Central Darfur state, about 100 kilometres from Tawila. In response, MSF opened a 73-bed cholera treatment centre in Golo hospital but was quickly overwhelmed, with 137 patients arriving on August 3 alone.

At the same time, five oral rehydration points were set up around Golo to manage mild cases and prevent deterioration, but the outbreak is still spreading fast.

"In early August, the outbreak reached Zalingei and Rokero in Central Darfur state, and Sortony in North Darfur state. Heavy rains are also worsening the crisis by contaminating water and damaging sewage systems," said the organisation.

It also notes that cases continue to rise in South Darfur state, as well, where MSF, in coordination with the Ministry of Health, has expanded the cholera treatment centre in Nyala to 80 beds.

"The health centres are full. Some areas have water, others have kiosks that are far or empty. Some water is salty, and we drink it unboiled, unsure if it's safe," said Samia Dahab, a resident of Otash displacement camp in Nyala.

The movement of persons triggered by the ongoing fighting has also led to the spread of cholera into neighbouring Chad and South Sudan.

In Damazin, Blue Nile state, MSF and the Ministry of Health expanded the Damazin hospital cholera treatment centre from 50 to 250 beds in July to cope with an influx of returnees from South Sudan.

"At this centre, our teams are seeing a deadly combination of cholera and malnutrition. Between August 3 and August 9, six cholera patients who died were also suffering from acute malnutrition. The situation is beyond urgent. The outbreak is spreading well beyond displacement camps now, into multiple localities across Darfur states and beyond."

"Every day of delay costs lives. MSF stands ready to collaborate with the Ministry of Health, UNICEF, and WHO to launch mass vaccination campaigns across Darfur. Survivors of war must not be left to die from a preventable disease," said Tuna Turkmen, MSF's head of mission in Sudan.