Published on: 2026-07-10
Source: United Nations
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July 10, 2026 Humanitarian aid
A new deadly cholera outbreak in war-torn Sudan has already claimed more than 100 lives, heightening serious concerns for the fate of vulnerable communities, including in besieged El-Obeid, where daily drone attacks hinder access to humanitarian aid.
“Cholera has returned and has already affected several states, mainly in the western part of the country, in Darfur and Kordofan,” said Shible Sahbani, a representative of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Sudan.
At a press briefing in Geneva on Friday, Sahbanie reported more than 1,330 confirmed cases of the disease and 114 deaths from it. He reminded that cholera can be prevented, but it can also lead to a fatal outcome quite quickly if timely medical assistance is not provided. The rainy season is likely to significantly worsen the outbreak.
The actual number of casualties is likely much higher, and humanitarian organizations are deeply concerned that the disease could spread among the hundreds of thousands of people who have fled from cities and rural areas of North Kordofan. This Sudanese state, located in the center of the country, is the epicenter of fighting between former allies – the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
High cholera lethality
As explained by Sakhbani, the lethality of cholera in Sudan has already reached an “extremely high” level—13.7 percent—and the situation is expected to worsen with the upcoming rainy season.
Sudan is currently the country with the world’s largest humanitarian crisis: more than 33 million people are in need of external support, including 21 million requiring medical assistance. Since the beginning of the war on April 15, 2023, at least 59,000 people have died.
Some people have returned to those states where the situation has somewhat improved, including the capital Khartoum. Sahbani emphasized that 13.4 million people remain displaced: 9 million within Sudan and 4.6 million in neighboring countries. In addition to cholera, outbreaks of diseases such as dengue, malaria, meningitis, hepatitis, and measles are currently observed.
“We are particularly concerned about the spread of cholera in El-Obeid in North Kordofan: access to this region is extremely limited, and the already fragile healthcare system is under increasing strain,” said the WHO representative. “Medical facilities there are overwhelmed, and access to medical care is extremely limited.”
Medical supplies are available, but they are scarce
The agency had pre-stocked medical supplies in El Obeid sufficient to treat more than 25,000 people, but this is still insufficient, emphasized Sahbani. On Monday, WHO delivered 8.5 tons of medical supplies to Kadugli and Dilling in South Kordofan.
Sakhbani supported recent calls by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk to the international community aimed at preventing further atrocities in El-Obeid. He stated that the mass killings in El-Fashir, which took place in October last year when Rapid Support Forces entered the city, must not be repeated.
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