Asmau uba Muhammad
Sudan’s worst cholera outbreak in years has been linked to the deaths of over 2,470 people, with nearly a 100,000 suspected cases, in the past year the Doctors Without Borders (MSF) humanitarian organization said on Thursday.
The humanitarian organization described this as the worst cholera outbreak Sudan has seen in years. The situation is especially dire in the Darfur region, where clean water is scarce amid the fighting.
The outbreak was first declared by Sudan’s Ministry of Health a year ago.
Cholera cases are especially widespread in the western Darfur region, where MSF said it has treated over 2,300 patients and recorded 40 deaths in the past week alone.
Cholera hits those already struggling with water shortages, MSF said, as the lack of water makes it impossible to stick to essential hygiene standards.
In North Darfur state’s town of Tawila, MSF reported an especially extreme situation with the disease. Some 380,000 have fled to town, escaping the ongoing fighting around the city of El-Fasher, according to United Nations figures.
Fighting in Sudan between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has been ongoing since April 2023, creating one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
Darfur Governor Mini Arko Minawi, in an interview with DW, blamed the RSF militia for failing to care for those affected by the cholera outbreak.
“Those suffering from cholera are located outside the government’s service areas, with most of them living in areas controlled by the so-called ‘Rapid Support Forces’ which have taken over these areas but are unable to provide services there.
Source: DW