WHO Warns of Increasing Cholera Risk in Sudan and Possible Transmission to Adjacent Nations

WHO has warned that due to overpopulation and inadequate sanitation in refugee camps, a cholera outbreak in Sudan could spread to Chad.

With hundreds of thousands of Sudanese refugees taking sanctuary in filthy, overcrowded camps in neighboring countries like Chad, the World Health Organization (WHO) has expressed alarm over the growing number of cholera cases in Sudan and warned that the disease could spread there.

According to Dr. Shible Sahbani, WHO’s Representative for Sudan, cholera has already spread to 13 Sudanese states, including North and South Darfur, which border Chad, in a video link interview with media from Port Sudan. As of Friday, the most recent wave of infections had resulted in at least 1,854 documented deaths.

“The spread of cholera is our concern,” Sahbani stated. “If prevention, surveillance, early warning, vaccination, and public education are not prioritized, it may spread not only to neighboring countries but possibly throughout the region.”

Now in its third year, the civil war between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has wreaked havoc on healthcare facilities and caused widespread sickness and starvation. Drone attacks have slowed the outbreak in Khartoum, where the army recently regained complete control, by cutting off water and electrical supply.

Sahbani emphasized the critical necessity for brief ceasefires and humanitarian corridors to support immunization campaigns and other disease control initiatives, such as those for malaria and dengue fever.

In places with poor sanitation, cholera, a potentially fatal diarrheal illness, spreads easily. With an estimated 300,000 Sudanese refugees currently living in Chad, many of whom are huddled in makeshift camps close to the border with little access to clean water and medical treatment, the situation is especially severe.

François Batalingaya, the U.N. Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Chad, cautioned that “a potential outbreak could be devastating in overcrowded, unsanitary conditions.” “The risk is being exacerbated by limited aid due to funding shortfalls,” he said.

In Geneina, a Sudanese town only 10 kilometers from the border, probable cases of cholera have been reported, despite the fact that the disease has not yet been formally verified in Chad. The lack of surveillance along the Libyan border adds to worries about cross-border transmission.

Nonetheless, there is some hope. In the weeks since an oral cholera immunization program began earlier this month, case fatality rates in and around Khartoum have decreased. However, WHO emphasizes that the situation might quickly worsen if international assistance is not provided immediately.