Sudan Cholera Outbreak Kills 120 as Fighting Devastates Health System

By Al Mayadeen English

1 Jul 2026 19:16

A new cholera outbreak is spreading across Sudan’s conflict-affected regions, with health authorities warning of rising infections.

A cholera outbreak in Sudan has killed 120 people, with another 1,102 suspected cases recorded since May in remote war -affected areas, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday.

The spread comes as more than three years of fighting between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have devastated the country’s health system.

The ongoing war has left much of Sudan’s healthcare infrastructure in disarray, with medical services severely limited or no longer operating across large parts of the country.

Three years into the war, which aid organizations estimate has killed more than 200,000 people, nearly all hospitals have been forced either fully or partially out of service.

Repeated waves of infection

This marks Sudan’s third cholera wave in as many years, arriving just two months after the previous outbreak was declared over in March.

Between July 2024 and March 2026, more than 124,400 people were infected, and 3,500 died during the last wave, according to government figures.

Cholera, which is endemic in the northeast African country, once occurred "in a cyclic manner every three years," WHO Sudan chief Dr Shible Sahbani told AFP reporters.

However, he said the country is now experiencing near-continuous outbreaks "due to the conflict, constraints in access and limited supplies."

Rainy season raises further risks

Authorities and aid officials warn that the approaching rainy season in Sudan is expected to worsen conditions, as cholera cases typically surge when millions lack access to clean water, and flooding further restricts humanitarian access.

The Sudanese government declared the latest outbreak this week in West Kordofan state, a flashpoint region that lies along the dividing line between army and paramilitary control zones.

Intensifying drone strikes by both sides have made commercial and humanitarian access to the Kordofan region increasingly dangerous, while also pushing hundreds of thousands of people toward the brink of starvation.

Spread to North Kordofan and warnings over El-Obeid

The WHO said the outbreak appears to be expanding, with nearly 300 suspected cases and three deaths reported in neighbouring North Kordofan.

The United Nations has warned that the Rapid Support Forces are preparing a possible ground assault on the state capital, El-Obeid.

Drone strikes on the city’s power stations are already "disrupting access to lifesaving drinking water and electricity," UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said Tuesday, warning of the risk of mass atrocities.

Years of war have left Sudan’s health system critically weakened, with most facilities no longer fully operational.

"Forty percent of health facilities are non-functional at all, and the remaining almost 60 percent are only partially functioning, meaning they are providing only a few services, or not enough to patients in the area," Sahbani said.