Cholera Outbreak in Khartoum Kills 1,540 in Three Days

The syndicate’s preparatory committee said the death toll in Khartoum and neighboring Omdurman has surged “significantly” this week amid a severe shortage of medical staff, supplies and functioning facilities, The Sudan Times reported.

Nearly 80% of clinics and hospitals in conflict zones are shut, and almost half of those elsewhere are closed, it said.

Confirmed cases are also rising outside the capital. In South Darfur’s Nyala, 91 infections and 10 deaths were recorded, with 26 patients in isolation. North Kordofan’s Rahad Hospital logged 100 new cases and 15 deaths. Additional infections were reported in El Fasher and the Kassab displacement camp in North Darfur, as well as El Daein in East Darfur and El Geneina in West Darfur.

Health officials fear the rainy season will accelerate transmission not only of cholera but also of measles and dengue fever. Much of Sudan’s sanitation infrastructure is damaged or non-existent, leaving communities exposed to contaminated water.

Two years of war between General al-Burhan’s army (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces have further crippled health services. Repeated strikes on hospitals and clinics have forced many to close, complicating efforts to treat patients and contain disease, aid groups say.

Doctors warned that unless medicines, clean water and vaccinations reach affected areas quickly, “a total collapse of the healthcare system is imminent,” said committee spokesman Sayed Mohamed Abdullah.

Humanitarian organizations have compared conditions faced by civilians in Sudan to those in Gaza, Ukraine and Somalia, citing a convergence of conflict, displacement, poverty and epidemic disease. Aid workers are urging the international community to scale up emergency assistance and negotiate safe corridors for medical supplies.

“The plight of Sudan’s communities cannot be ignored,” Abdullah said. “Immediate, coordinated action is needed to save lives and prevent further catastrophe.”