WHO reports 300 cholera deaths in Sudan, warns dengue and meningitis rising

CAIRO, Egypt

The humanitarian crisis caused by the civil war in Sudan has exacerbated infections, including cholera, which has killed more than 300 people, a World Health Organization (WHO) official says.

Margaret Harris said on Friday that 11,327 cholera cases and 316 deaths had been reported and dengue fever and meningitis infections were also on the rise.

“We expect to have more than has been reported,” she added.

According to the WHO, the recent outbreaks of cholera have also been more deadly with fatality rates being the highest recorded in more than a decade.

Cholera is caused by a bacteria spread in contaminated food and water, and access to clean water and sanitation are important to stop its spread.

The disease can kill within hours without treatment although it can also cause mild or no symptoms. Children under five are at particular risk.

The fighting in Sudan has forced one in five people in the country to flee their homes, and the violence has resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands.

Due to the mass displacement, more than 25 million people across the country, or more than half Sudan’s population, face acute hunger and outbreaks of disease. Famine has also been declared in a Darfur displacement camp, and humanitarian aid is hard to come by.

Aside from those displaced within Sudan, millions of people have also been forced to flee to Chad, the Central African Republic, Egypt, Ethiopia and South Sudan.

To complicate the situation, thousands of Sudanese have been displaced by the recent floods in Nile State and in Kassala, which lies on the border with Eritrea.

War has raged in the country since April 2023 between the Sudanese army under the country’s de facto ruler, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), led by his former deputy Mohamed “Hemedti” Hamdan Daglo.

The United States, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, the African Union, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and the United Nations are trying to steer the Sudanese army and the RSF into ceasefire talks.

The talks in Switzerland, which also involve experts and civil society representatives, are aimed at achieving a cessation of hostilities and humanitarian access.