Sudan: Major Cholera Outbreak as Heavy Rains Hit Displacement Camps and No End to Fighting

PORT SUDAN, (September 05, 2024) – Thousands of children in eastern Sudan are at risk of cholera following a major outbreak caused by widespread flooding, contaminated water and a decimated health system after 16 months of conflict, Save the Children said.

Nearly 2900 cases of cholera and 112 deaths have been reported between July 22 and the beginning of September, with Sudan’s Ministry of Health officially declared the outbreak on August 12. However, the actual numbers may be higher as limited access to health facilities and delayed community referrals are leading to a significant underreporting, according to the latest report from Sudan’s Health Cluster— a partnership including the UN, the Federal Ministry of Health, and NGOs including Save the Children. 

In El Damer in River Nile State and Gedarif in Gedarif State, Save the Children teams are reporting a huge spike in cholera cases among children under five, who account for nearly 15% of the confirmed cases and deaths across the country.

The spike in cholera comes with no end to the fighting that started in April last year and has devastated the country’s health and sanitation systems. Cholera spreads rapidly due to inadequate sewage treatment, flooding, and unsafe drinking water—conditions worsened by relentless heavy rains that have battered much of the country for the past three months.

The flooding has already claimed at least 173 lives and injured 505 people since June, according to the National Council for Civil Defense. The downpour also caused the collapse of the Arbaat Dam in Red Sea state on August 24, which is the main source of drinking water for the coastal city of Port Sudan, a vital humanitarian hub.  

Heavy rains and flooding have also displaced 4,300 people from displacement camps in North Darfur State, including the Zamzam camp, where famine was recently declared. The flooding has destroyed around 900 tents and washed away latrines within these camps, severely disrupting humanitarian aid efforts.

With more than 25.6 million people across the country in need of aid, the crisis has escalated food scarcity, putting children at heightened risk of malnutrition.

Mohamed Abdiladif, Interim Country Director for Save the Children in Sudan, said:
“Children in Sudan have gone from horror to horror. Even before the conflict erupted last year, the country was home to one of the world’s biggest humanitarian crises, with existing localised conflicts, natural disasters, disease outbreaks and economic degradation leaving 15.8 million people in need. That figure has now escalated to 25.6 million people, and diseases like cholera will only trigger a greater increase. Conflict is not just about immediate violence but is also a slow but deadly drip-feed of other grave threats to children’s lives, such as malnutrition and disease.

“We are working to ensure access to clean water, sanitation facilities, and hygiene promotion activities to prevent the spread of waterborne diseases such as cholera in conflict-affected areas. However, we urgently need a huge injection of funds to deliver the treatment needed for cholera.”

Save the Children is conducting daily water quality testing, monitoring and chlorination at 35 water sources within the Sawakin locality, Red Sea state, and has disposed of 125 tons of solid waste at designated dumping sites.

In Gedaref state, Save the Children supports treating and managing cholera cases and provides safe drinking water to cholera treatment centers. The aid agency is also providing cash assistance to vulnerable families to enable them to buy basics such as food and water and afford health care.
Save the Children has worked in Sudan since 1983 and is currently supporting children and their families across Sudan providing health, nutrition, education, child protection, food security and livelihoods support. Save the Children is also supporting refugees from Sudan in Egypt and South Sudan. 

###