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Fighting hampers cholera response in Sudan

Refugees fleeing the conflict in Sudan queue with their jerrycans to queue to collect drinking water from the Doctors Without Borders (MSF) distribution point at the Ourang refugee camp in Adre on December 7, 2023. (Photo by Denis Sassou Gueipeur / AFP)

By United Nations | Wednesday, December 27, 2023

The number of suspected cases has increased by more than 100 per cent over the past month.

The conflict in Sudan continues to block efforts to respond to a deadly cholera outbreak that continues to spread across the country, the UN Humanitarian Affairs Office, OCHA, said on Tuesday.

The number of suspected cases has increased by more than 100 per cent over the past month, with nearly 8,300 suspected cases and more than 200 deaths reported in nine states as of 23 December, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) and Sudan’s Ministry of Health.

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This includes more than 1,800 suspected cholera cases in Al Jazirah state, where intense clashes this month between the Sudanese army and a rival military group known as the Rapid Support Forces have displaced at least 300,000 people.

OCHA said humanitarians have been working to support the detection and treatment of cholera cases, as well as vaccination campaigns, but the ongoing fighting continues to hamper response efforts and disrupt access to basic public health services.

Roughly two-thirds of Sudan’s population lacks access to healthcare, with more than 70 per cent of hospitals in conflict-impacted areas no longer functional.