Sudan is grappling with a sharp rise in cholera infections as the ongoing war severely disrupts access to clean water and medical treatment, particularly in the capital, Khartoum.
The Ministry of Health reported on Tuesday that 2,700 new cases and 172 deaths were recorded in just one week. Around 90 percent of the infections were concentrated in Khartoum state, where recent drone strikes—blamed on the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF)—have knocked out electricity and water supplies.
Cholera, while endemic in Sudan, has surged in frequency and severity since the outbreak of war in April 2023. The conflict has further devastated the country’s already fragile water, sanitation, and healthcare systems.
Health authorities have also confirmed cases in central, southern, and northern regions of Sudan. Just last week, the government reported 2,300 infections and 51 deaths, highlighting a rapid increase in the spread of the disease.
According to Doctors Without Borders (MSF), recent RSF drone attacks targeted three power stations in Khartoum before the group was pushed out of its final positions in the city. The strikes disrupted electricity and disabled local water treatment facilities, leaving residents to rely on unsafe water sources.
“Water treatment stations no longer have electricity and cannot provide clean water from the Nile,” said Slaymen Ammar, MSF’s medical coordinator in Khartoum.
Cholera, a waterborne illness that causes severe diarrhoea, can be fatal within hours without proper treatment. Yet it remains easily preventable and curable with clean water, adequate sanitation, and timely medical care—resources that are increasingly scarce across war-hit Sudan.
The World Health Organization has warned that Sudan’s healthcare system is at “breaking point,” with up to 90 percent of hospitals forced to shut down at some point during the conflict. Many health facilities have been looted, bombed, or caught in the crossfire.
Now entering its third year, the war between the army and the RSF has killed tens of thousands, displaced 13 million people, and triggered the world’s largest hunger and displacement crisis.