Cholera cases rise in Sudan’s Kordofan as MSF deploys to Darfur
July 7, 2026 (KHARTOUM) – Cholera cases are rising in Sudan’s North and West Kordofan states, the health ministry said on Tuesday, while medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) launched emergency interventions to contain the disease in South Darfur.
The Sudanese health ministry previously reported 991 cholera cases, including 127 deaths, in Kordofan by late June. The outbreak has since spread from the primary epicentre of Al-Mazroub to Western Bara, sparking fears it could reach the strategic city of El Obeid.
The cholera infection rate has increased in West Kordofan and Western Bara, with 55 patients currently admitted to an isolation centre in Western Bara, the ministry said in a statement.
Medical deliveries from the KAFA organization have reached West Kordofan to support containment efforts, the ministry added.
The Sudan Doctors Network warned on Saturday that more than 200,000 people in Western Bara, including 20,000 children, face severe shortages of food and medicine alongside concurrent outbreaks of measles and cholera.
Dengue fever cases have decreased across the River Nile, Kassala, Northern, Khartoum, Gezira, and Gedaref states, with 95 cases and no deaths recorded, according to the ministry. Meningitis cases dropped to three infections across Khartoum and Gezira.
Malaria and cholera treatments have been distributed to most states, though the availability of broader epidemic-control items and infection-control aids varies, the health ministry said.
MSF said it deployed to the Al-Koubra area of West Kordofan following a field assessment to support a local cholera treatment unit.
The aid group is providing case management, technical training, essential medical supplies and staff incentives, warning that the situation in West Kordofan remains highly critical.
In South Darfur, MSF is establishing cholera treatment centres and oral rehydration points after suspected cases were detected late last month.
Humanitarian support is extremely limited in South Darfur and West Kordofan, with very few aid groups operating on the ground, MSF Emergency Coordinator Ali Mohamed said.
Most public health facilities in West Kordofan have closed due to severe shortages of staff and supplies, Mohamed added. Private clinics remain open but are unaffordable for most residents, raising the risk of cholera spreading to other states.
The health ministry in South Darfur, which is controlled by the Rapid Support Forces, said on Monday it confirmed three cholera cases in the city of Nyala, including two people who travelled from North Kordofan.