Cholera deaths surge in Sudan’s Omdurman, treatment centres overwhelmed
May 26, 2025 (KHARTOUM) – Volunteers reported on Monday an increase in deaths due to the cholera epidemic in the city of Omdurman, Khartoum State, while treatment centers are witnessing overcrowding with patients.
The Ministry of Health says the average number of cholera cases in Khartoum ranges between 600 to 700 infections weekly, while the Khartoum State Ministry of Health reports 800 cases undergoing treatment in the state’s health facilities; without either providing any statistics on deaths.
Volunteers told “Sudan Tribune” that “the number of deaths due to cholera is witnessing a significant escalation amidst the widening spread of the disease.” Two volunteers indicated that they had counted at least 20 deaths per day over the past three days.
A Sudan Tribune journalist who visited the Al-Nao Hospital cholera isolation (quarantine) centre described patients lying on the ground outside in temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit).
Patient attendants were seen holding intravenous drips for extended periods due to a lack of equipment, and tents had been set up outside the main facility to treat additional patients amid poor environmental conditions, the report continued.
The centre does not stop receiving more new cases despite its overcrowding and the shortage of working health personnel, while workers try to dispose of patient waste scattered in the open despite the visible exhaustion on their faces.
The cholera epidemic spread in Omdurman after the Rapid Support Forces shelled three power stations, which led to the shutdown of water stations due to power outages, pushing residents to use unsafe water from shallow wells or directly from the Nile.
Increasing cases
Volunteers said the volume of cholera cases at the Al-Nao Hospital centre ranges from 70 to 700 cases daily, with the Ministry of Health and Doctors Without Borders trying to cover treatment.
Patient companions told “Sudan Tribune” that they are paying for IV fluids fully or partially.
On Sunday, the National Medical Supplies Fund said it sent 120 tons of IV fluids, medicines, and medical consumables, and plans to send an additional 30 tons to the Khartoum State Ministry of Health.
The World Health Organization stated it provided 15 tons of supplies to the Khartoum State Ministry of Health and Doctors Without Borders, sufficient to treat 58,000 patients for cholera, malaria, and dengue fever, in addition to those suffering from malnutrition.
Fundraising campaigns are active around the Al-Nao Hospital centre to meet patients’ needs for IV fluids or to provide vehicles to transport bodies for families unable to afford the cost. “Sudan Tribune” observed the body of a woman lying at the entrance of the centre.
With the spread of the infection, residents of Al-Thawra’s Eighth District protested to the isolation centre’s administration, demanding its relocation from the area after 4 cases appeared within the neighbourhood.
Residents informed “Sudan Tribune” of their intention to organize a protest to pressure authorities to move the quarantine centre out of the district.
A volunteer said that in the early days, cases arrived at Al-Nao centre from the old neighbourhoods of Omdurman, which had received displaced people from the Al-Salha area, before the disease spread in Karari locality, noting large numbers of soldiers and fighters among the infected.
Volunteers confirmed dozens of cases arriving at other centres; including the Al-Dow Hajoj centre in central Omdurman, and the Sheikh Al-Tayeb centre in Al-Jazira Islang, north of Omdurman.