Cholera outbreak worsens in eastern Sudan state amid displacement crisis

November 16, 2024 (AL FAW) – A cholera outbreak in Sudan’s eastern Gederaf state is deteriorating, a health official said on Saturday, as the area grapples with an influx of people displaced by fighting in another region.

Dafa Allah Mohamed Ali, director of health affairs, told Sudan Tribune that Al Faw locality has registered 63 new cholera cases and six deaths.

“Isolation centres in Al Faw Teaching Hospital received 20 cases of cholera from within the locality, in addition to 43 cases among those displaced from Al Jazirah state,” Ali said.

Around 343,000 people have fled Al Jazirah since October 20 following attacks by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the International Organization for Migration says. Some 44% have sought refuge in Gederaf.

Ali said cases among people displaced from Al Jazirah account for 43% of infections in Al Faw.

The outbreak has infected over 34,108 people and caused 979 deaths across 11 states since it began less than four months ago, according to the health ministry.

The ministry said it had completed a cholera vaccination campaign in Al Faw and two areas in White Nile state.