The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued a stark warning about the worsening cholera outbreak in Sudan, cautioning that the disease could soon spread to neighboring Chad, where hundreds of thousands of Sudanese refugees are living in overcrowded and unsanitary camps.
The cholera outbreak, which has already claimed 1,854 lives, has now spread to 13 Sudanese states, including North and South Darfur—regions bordering Chad. The rainy season has further intensified the risk of transmission.
A Region in Crisis
Sudan’s health infrastructure has been devastated by a civil war now entering its third year. Fighting between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has crippled healthcare access, especially in the capital, Khartoum, where recent drone attacks have disrupted electricity and clean water supply—creating ideal conditions for cholera to spread.
A South Sudanese woman holds her baby suffering from cholera in Juba Teaching Hospital in Juba, May 27, 2014. According to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), 86 new cases of cholera were admitted in Juba Teaching hospital, with over 500 cases of cholera treated since the outbreak was declared by the Ministry of Health on May 15. REUTERS/Andreea Campeanu (SOUTH SUDAN – Tags: HEALTH SOCIETY)
“We are very concerned that cholera is spreading,” said Dr. Shible Sahbani, WHO’s Representative in Sudan, during a briefing from Port Sudan. “If we don’t invest in prevention, surveillance, early warning systems, vaccination, and public education, the disease could spread not just to neighbouring countries, but across the wider region.”
Chad on High Alert
The threat of spillover is particularly severe in Chad, where an estimated 300,000 Sudanese refugees are sheltering near the border, many in makeshift sites without reliable access to clean water or sanitation. WHO officials said suspected cholera cases have already been reported in Geneina, a Sudanese city just 10 km from the Chadian border.
Sudanese refugees who have fled the violence in their country queue to receive food supplements from World Food Programme (WFP) near the border between Sudan and Chad in Adre, Chad April 26, 2023. REUTERS/Mahamet Ramdane
“In overcrowded, unsanitary conditions, a potential outbreak could be devastating,” said François Batalingaya, the UN’s Humanitarian Coordinator in Chad.
Funding cuts have hampered the ability of humanitarian agencies to provide even basic services. Without immediate intervention, health experts fear a major cross-border public health emergency is imminent.
Vaccination Efforts Underway
Despite the challenges, health authorities have begun deploying oral cholera vaccines in and around Khartoum, which has helped to reduce fatality rates in recent weeks. However, WHO says that access restrictions and ongoing fighting are preventing wider distribution and calls are growing for humanitarian corridors and temporary ceasefires to allow medical teams to reach vulnerable populations.
epa00997927 Darfur refugees at an outdoor primary school run by Christain Organisation for Relief and Develepment (CORD) in Bredjing refugee camp, in eastern Chad, on 02 May 2007. CORD is helping educate over 30,000 students from the Sudanese Darfur region and the Chadian host community but will have to close some schools due to lack of funding. Chad has over 200,000 refugees from Darfur within its borders and more continue to arrive every month despite international pressure on Sudan to end the four-year-old conflict in the region. EPA/STEPHEN MORRISON
Cholera, a highly infectious diarrhoeal disease, spreads rapidly in areas with poor sanitation and untreated water. As Sudan’s rainy season progresses and refugee flows increase, experts say urgent global support is needed to prevent a broader epidemic.
