Cholera outbreak worsens in Sudan’s RSF-controlled Kordofan region

July 4, 2026 (AL-MAZRUB) – A worsening cholera outbreak in Sudan’s North Kordofan state has killed 14 people and infected hundreds more, a medical union said on Saturday, warning that a collapsing health system could cause the disease to spread nationwide.

The outbreak is centred in Al-Mazrub, a town west of Bara in an area controlled by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The epidemic initially spread from neighbouring West Kordofan.

Al-Mazrub Hospital has registered 418 cholera cases, with 61 patients currently isolated, according to Adiba Ibrahim El Sayed, a specialist with the Preliminary Committee of the Sudan Doctors Union. The facility recorded 29 new cases in a 24-hour period.

“The health system is unable to limit the spread of the disease due to deteriorated sanitation, contaminated water sources, damaged sewage networks, and a severe scarcity of safe drinking water,” El Sayed told Sudan Tribune.

Local volunteers said medical supplies are running critically low across RSF-held areas of North and West Kordofan, where ongoing conflict between the paramilitary group and the Sudanese army has severely disrupted aid corridors.

El Sayed warned that the epidemic could rapidly spread to other states if public health infrastructure is not reinforced, calling on international agencies for emergency intervention.