WHO Warns Cholera Outbreak in Sudan Could Worsen Due to Conflict and Rainy Season
Omdurman – Mashaweer
The World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Friday that the cholera outbreak in Sudan could worsen as the ongoing conflict, mass displacement, and the start of the rainy season threaten to deepen the country’s humanitarian crisis.
The organization said that cholera, whose outbreak was officially declared on June 27, has killed at least 114 people and infected more than 1,300 others. The disease has spread across several Sudanese states, particularly Darfur and Kordofan, where access for humanitarian and health workers remains severely restricted.
WHO Representative in Sudan, Shible Sahbani, told reporters in Geneva via video link from Libya, “Cholera has returned.”
He added, “The case fatality rate is 13.7%, which is extremely high, and of course the rainy season is expected to make the situation even worse.”
Cholera is a rapidly spreading disease that causes severe diarrhea and can be fatal if sanitation systems and drinking water are not adequately managed.
The WHO also stated that Sudan is facing the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, with more than 33 million people in need of humanitarian assistance and 21 million people requiring health services.
