‘Complete lack of medicines’ as cholera rates rise in Sudan

05/12/2023 15:20 PORT SUDAN / EL GEDAREF / EL GEZIRA

Sudan’s annual rainy season routinely leaves swaths of flood damage. The resulting standing water is a breeding ground for mosquitoes that carry dengue fever and malaria (File photo: Dar Al salaam Development Association / UNAMID)

Sudan continues to witness a rapid increase in cholera cases, with a daily rise in the death toll. According to a report by the Sudanese Ministry of Health in Port Sudan yesterday, the region’s cholera rates rose to 4,831 cases, including 151 fatalities.

El Gedaref in Eastern Sudan recorded the highest rates of cholera in the country, with 1,808 cases and 46 deaths, followed by El Gezira with 1,345 cases and 23 deaths.

Red Sea state recorded 683 cases, 28 of whom died, while the number of cholera cases in the White Nile state reached 399 cases, including 22 deaths, and the cholera epidemic first spread in El Gedaref and Khartoum in September, before moving to other states of Sudan.

As previously reported by Radio Dabanga, 2.2 million cholera and 7.5 million measles-rubella vaccines were airlifted to Port Sudan for distribution two weeks ago to combat disease outbreaks across Sudan. 

On Sunday, Agig locality in the southern part of Red Sea state recorded five new cases and one death.

Hashim Omar, a resident of Agig, told Radio Dabanga that the region faces a “complete lack of medicines for this disease, including any traditional (herbal) solutions.”

Omar explained that several areas in the locality are witnessing the spread of cholera cases, due to the severe environmental deterioration, with people resorting to digging holes to obtain drinking water.

OCHA  

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says 3.1 million people in Sudan are at risk of cholera in eight states between July and December 2023.

The latest OCHA situation report explains that as of 2 December 2023, at least 5,178 suspected cases of cholera, including 161 associated deaths (case fatality rate of 3.1 per cent), were reported from 46 localities of nine states, according to the Federal Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization Sudan Outbreaks Dashboard.

Health ministries in Sudan are calling on the public to take measures to curtail the spread of cholera, urging them to empty, wash, and dry all water tanks and containers, and leave them exposed to the sun for three days, and also to prevent standing water against the proliferation of mosquitoes, the main vectors for dengue fever and malaria. The medical response across the country is dramatically curtailed by the ongoing war.

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On 5 October 2024 in Port Sudan, Sudan, UNICEF Health Officer Khattab Obaid inspects a shipment of cholera vaccines in the back of a refrigerated truck before they are transported to Kassala, Gedaref and River Nile states. A UNICEF-chartered plane carrying 1.4 million doses of oral cholera vaccines arrived in Port Sudan, Sudan, early this morning, to bolster efforts to protect children from the ongoing cholera outbreak affecting the country. Since the current outbreak began in July 2024, over 18,000 cases of cholera and approximately 550 deaths have been reported in 10 states across the country. The new batch of vaccines adds to the 404,000 doses UNICEF delivered to Sudan last month and will be used in the ongoing immunization campaigns. The campaigns aim to vaccinate 1.81 million people against cholera in the hardest-hit states: Gedaref, Kassala and River Nile. Besides cholera, concurrent outbreaks of other diseases – such as dengue, malaria and measles – are taking hold in at least 12 of Sudan’s 18 states. Earlier this week, UNICEF delivered nearly 190,000 doses of malaria vaccines to the country to help protect children from malaria. “Coming on the heels of war, displacement and famine, the impact of these epidemics could be catastrophic for children,” said Sheldon Yett, UNICEF Representative to Sudan. “Delivery of the vaccines to health authorities in Sudan and into the arms of communities most at risk is essential for stopping the spread of these deadly diseases.” Ongoing disease outbreaks are pushing Sudan’s already fragile healthcare system to a breaking point and exacerbating weaknesses in the sanitation and hygiene infrastructure. Limited access to safe water and adequate sanitation, especially in overcrowded displacement sites and camps increases the risk of transmission. Children who have never been vaccinated and those suffering from malnutrition are particularly at risk. “We need all hands on deck now to scale up our response,

1.4 million cholera vaccines land in Port Sudan

07/10/2024 10:14

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