Cholera spreads to Sudan’s Darfur, medical group says

June 18, 2025 (OMDURMAN) – The medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said on Wednesday it was concerned by a new wave of cholera spreading to Sudan’s Darfur region for the first time since the country’s conflict began.

The spread of the disease to Darfur is an alarming development due to the high number of displaced people there who lack access to clean water and sanitation, MSF said in a statement.

Most of the new cases have been recorded in South Darfur, where Nyala Teaching Hospital has registered about 250 cases since May 27, the aid group said. The outbreak follows a rapid spread of the disease in the capital, Khartoum, in late May, where some 2,500 cases were recorded.

In response, MSF has opened a new cholera treatment centre in the city of Nyala and is supporting two other centres in El Geneina, in West Darfur state.

The medical group called on United Nations agencies and other non-governmental organizations to mobilize funding, supplies, and staff to tackle the outbreak, especially in South Darfur.

Separately, a plane carrying 37 tons of medical supplies and intravenous solutions from the Turkish government to combat the epidemic landed in Port Sudan on Wednesday morning, according to state media.