Cholera outbreak in war-torn Sudan kills over 2,400, MSF says

August 14, 2025 (PORT SUDAN) – A cholera outbreak sweeping through war-torn Sudan has infected nearly 100,000 people and killed more than 2,470 amid a deepening humanitarian crisis, the medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said on Thursday.

The outbreak, first declared by the health ministry a year ago, is hitting displaced communities hardest in regions like Darfur, where an all-out war has shattered access to clean water and healthcare.

In the past week alone, MSF teams treated over 2,300 cholera patients and recorded 40 deaths in Ministry of Health facilities in Darfur, the aid group said in a statement.

The outbreak is most severe in areas overwhelmed by people fleeing conflict. In Tawila, North Darfur, which hosts 380,000 displaced people, residents survive on an average of three litres of water a day, less than half the WHO’s emergency minimum.

The town’s 130-bed cholera treatment centre was forced to accommodate 400 patients during the first week of August, with staff adding mattresses on the floor to cope with the influx.

“In displacement and refugee camps, families often have no choice but to drink from contaminated sources,” said Sylvain Penicaud, MSF project coordinator in Tawila. “Just two weeks ago, a body was found in a well inside one of the camps. It was removed, but within two days, people were forced to drink from that same water again.”

The disease is spreading as people move to escape fighting. In Golo, Central Darfur, a 73-bed treatment centre was quickly overwhelmed, with 137 patients arriving on Aug. 3 alone. Heavy rains are exacerbating the crisis by contaminating water sources.

The combination of disease and hunger is proving deadly. In Damazin, Blue Nile state, MSF teams recorded six cholera patients who died between August 3 and August 9, who were also suffering from acute malnutrition.

“The health centres are full,” said Samia Dahab, a resident of the Otash displacement camp in Nyala, South Darfur. “Some areas have water, others have kiosks that are far or empty… we drink it unboiled, unsure if it’s safe.”

MSF called for an urgent international response to improve water and sanitation services and to begin mass cholera vaccination campaigns.

“The outbreak is spreading well beyond displacement camps now,” said Tuna Turkmen, MSF’s head of mission in Sudan. “The international response must have an outbreak emergency coordination mechanism… Every day of delay costs lives.”