23 dead, over 310 cholera cases reported in Sudan’s West Kordofan: Local group

At least 23 people have died and more than 310 cholera cases and suspected infections have been reported in two areas of West Kordofan in southern Sudan, a local relief group said Sunday.

The Dar Hamar Emergency Room, a community-based relief organization, warned in two separate statements of deteriorating health and humanitarian conditions in Humeir village and Hilla Hussein in Al-Udayyah locality.

The group said Humeir was facing a “serious health situation,” with 120 suspected cholera cases admitted to an isolation center and 11 deaths recorded.

It said the isolation center lacked intravenous fluids and life-saving medicines as the number of suspected cases continued to rise.

The group appealed to health authorities and humanitarian organizations to urgently provide medical supplies, warning that conditions could deteriorate further.

In a separate statement, the group said the health and humanitarian crisis had worsened in Hilla Hussein, where more than 190 cholera cases and 12 deaths from the disease had been recorded.

Transportation disruptions have isolated the area and made it difficult to evacuate critically ill patients for treatment, it added.

The group also warned of a worsening food crisis, saying conditions had forced some residents to use animal feed to provide for their children.

It called on humanitarian organizations to immediately provide medicines and food assistance to residents.

The group did not specify the period during which the deaths, confirmed cases and suspected infections were recorded in the two areas.

On July 14, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned that continued fighting and disease outbreaks were taking a heavy toll on civilians across Sudan.

The World Health Organization said on July 7 that 1,330 confirmed cholera cases and 114 deaths had been recorded amid the outbreak in Sudan.

​​​​​​​Sudan has been engulfed in a conflict between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since April 2023, killing tens of thousands of people and displacing around 13 million, according to UN and international estimates.