More than 430 people have died of cholera in the past month, said the Ministry of Health in Sudan, as the civil war continues to ravage the country.
The number of infections has risen to 14,000, the statement said.
It said it was doing everything it could to “fight diarrhea in the affected states, amid an increase in infections”.
Access to medical care in those affected areas is becoming more difficult because of the conflict that has killed about 150,000 people since it began last year, according to the US special envoy to Sudan, Tom Perriello.
The medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) reported that “frequently blocked by both warring parties, the humanitarian response remains far below what is needed”.
Sudan has been at war since the army and a powerful group, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), began a brutal struggle for power in April 2023, leading to what the UN has called one of the world’s worst disasters.
More than nine million people have been forced to leave their homes and there is fear of widespread famine as people are unable to grow crops.
There have also been warnings of a possible massacre of non-Arabs in the western Darfur region.
Cholera is a rapidly growing and highly contagious disease. It can cause diarrhea, dehydration and death, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
It is easy to treat, but prompt treatment is important.
Health Minister Haitham Mohammed Ibrahim declared a cholera outbreak in mid-August.
Along with the war, heavy rains and floods also contributed to the spread of cholera, combined with overcrowding in displacement camps.
Esperanza Santos, MSF’s Sudan emergency coordinator, said these factors created a “perfect storm” for cholera to spread.
In some places, schools, markets and shops were said to be closed to stop the spread of the disease.
Pregnant women and children are among those most affected by the collapse of the health system, according to a new MSF report.
It said 114 mothers died in the South Darfur region between January and August, while thousands of children are facing starvation.
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