**Cholera Outbreak Kills Over 170 in Sudan Amid Collapsing Health System**
A deadly cholera outbreak has killed more than 170 people across Sudan in just one week, as the country’s healthcare system continues to unravel under the strain of an ongoing civil war.
The Sudanese health ministry reported over 2,700 new infections and 172 deaths in the past week alone, with nearly 90% of cases occurring in Khartoum state. The outbreak follows severe disruptions to water and electricity services, largely caused by drone strikes from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), who have been fighting the Sudanese army since April 2023.
Cholera cases have also been confirmed in Sudan’s southern, central, and northern regions. While cholera is endemic to Sudan, the frequency and intensity of outbreaks have surged since the conflict began, further crippling already fragile water, sanitation, and healthcare infrastructure. Just weeks earlier, the ministry had recorded 51 deaths and over 2,300 infections in a three-week span, primarily in Khartoum.
Earlier in May, RSF drone attacks targeted three power stations in Khartoum, disabling the city’s electrical grid and rendering water treatment plants inoperable. As a result, many residents now rely on untreated water directly from the Nile, often delivered in barrels by donkey carts.
“Water treatment stations no longer have electricity and cannot provide clean water from the Nile,” said Slaymen Ammar, medical coordinator for Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in Khartoum.
Bashir Mohamed, a resident of Omdurman—a city within the Khartoum metropolitan area—said his family has been without power for nearly two weeks. “We now fetch water directly from the Nile,” he explained.
At Al-Nao Hospital in Omdurman, one of the few medical facilities still functioning, doctors say the use of untreated river water is fueling the rapid spread of the disease. Medical staff are overwhelmed, with patients lying on the floors due to overcrowding and a shortage of personnel. Local emergency officials have issued a call for volunteers to assist in care efforts.
“The number of patients exceeds the hospital’s capacity,” said one emergency worker. “There are not enough medical staff. Some patients are lying on the floors in hospital corridors.”
Cholera, a bacterial disease typically spread through contaminated water or food, can lead to death within hours if untreated—but is preventable with access to clean water, sanitation, and basic healthcare.
The World Health Organization has warned that Sudan’s healthcare system is on the verge of total collapse. The country’s doctors’ union estimates that up to 90% of hospitals have been forced to close at some point due to the conflict, many of them looted, bombed, or occupied.
Now in its third year, Sudan’s civil war has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced more than 13 million, creating what the United Nations describes as the world’s largest displacement and hunger crisis.
