Deadly Cholera Outbreak Claims Over 40 Lives in Sudan, Worse Than Any Seen in Years
The worst cholera outbreak in years in Sudan has been ongoing since August 2024, with nearly 100,000 suspected cases and over 2,470 deaths reported as of mid-August 2025. The outbreak is especially severe in North Darfur's Tawila locality, where thousands of suspected cases continue to rise amid ongoing conflict and displacement.
The key causes of the outbreak include ongoing armed conflict and war in Sudan, particularly affecting Darfur, which has triggered mass displacement and severely disrupted access to clean water, sanitation, and healthcare. Water shortages and poor hygiene conditions also limit essential preventive measures, while limited healthcare infrastructure is overwhelmed by patients.
By August 11, 2025, Sudan had reported around 99,700 suspected cholera cases and more than 2,470 cholera-related deaths nationwide. Earlier data showed that by June 2025, Sudan had 7,696 new cholera cases and 115 deaths that month alone, with the disease spreading in multiple states including Darfur, Khartoum, White Nile, and North Kordofan.
Efforts to respond to the outbreak include the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF establishing oral rehydration points and deploying drug kits for acute watery diarrhea treatment. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is working with the Ministry of Health to treat thousands of patients and calling for urgent mass vaccination campaigns and improvements in water and sanitation services.
The conflict in Sudan between the army led by military ruler Fattah al-Burhan and the RSF militia of his former deputy Mohammed Hamdan Daglo has been ongoing for over two years. However, the conflict is not directly related to the cholera outbreak. The lack of clean water and medical care in the region affected by the cholera outbreak is not attributed to the conflict.
MSF teams have treated over 2,300 patients and recorded 40 cholera-related deaths in the western Darfur region alone. The cholera outbreak in the western Darfur region and the conflict in Sudan are two separate issues, although both are ongoing.
Many people affected by the cholera outbreak lack access to medical care and medication. Cholera is a severe gastrointestinal disease spread through contaminated water or food. The UN has reported that tens of thousands of people have been killed in the conflict in Sudan, but it has not been mentioned as impacting the availability of medical care or clean water in the region affected by the cholera outbreak.
Coordination between international organizations and Sudanese health authorities is urgently needed to contain the outbreak and prevent further deaths.
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