Sudan: 10 Dead As WHO Flags Sudan's West Kordofan 'Latest Cholera Outbreak Hotspot'

What the report says

At least 10 people have died and more than 40 others have been infected in a cholera outbreak in El Idai locality in Sudan’s West Kordofan state, according to the Kordofan Human Rights Observatory, as reported by Dabanga and distributed by AllAfrica. The cases were recorded over Sunday and Monday, and the observatory said the illness has also spread to nearby areas including Um Jak, Hameer, Um Raqil and Shaq El Kidad.

The World Health Organization said more than 2,600 cholera cases had been reported across several Sudanese states by early August and described Kordofan as the latest outbreak hotspot. The WHO also announced a vaccination campaign targeting 928,000 people in West Darfur and West Kordofan, with work under way in El Nahud, Dibanda and the state capital, El Fula. Additional preventive campaigns were being launched in Kass in South Darfur and Tawila in North Darfur.

Mortada Ahmed, a spokesperson for the observatory, said the area faces severe shortages of medicines and life-saving supplies, including intravenous fluids. He linked the worsening health risk to conflict between Sudan’s army and the Rapid Support Forces, which has made access for aid and food more difficult. The observatory and UN officials called for safe humanitarian corridors and urgent intervention to limit further spread and deaths. In general, cholera is a waterborne disease that can spread quickly where sanitation, clean water and medical care are limited, which makes war-affected areas especially vulnerable.