Sudan faces Cholera outbreak as humanitarian crisis worsens

Sudan which is grappling with a severe humanitarian crisis and political instability is now facing a health crisis with 300 cases of cholera and 18 deaths reported in the war-torn country in a week.

Heavy rains and flooding have disrupted healthcare services, exacerbating the spread of diseases like malaria and dengue fever. The situation has turned adverse with most hospitals and health facilities forced to shut down due to ongoing conflict, leaving two-thirds of the population in a war-torn nation without access to essential health services.

According to various reports, the country’s medical personnel, including doctors and nurses, have been killed or wounded. These repeated assaults on healthcare infrastructure and staff have far-reaching repercussions as people cannot even get treatment for minor injuries and diseases.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has warned that attacks on healthcare facilities and personnel have severe consequences amidst the worsening food crisis. The ongoing conflict has pushed people into starvation, creating the world’s largest displacement crisis, with over 10 million people forced to flee their homes since April 2023.

Rising food and energy prices have intensified hardships, with a burgeoning regional black market thriving. Divisions deepen within Sudan’s political landscape and among protesters.

According to the World Food Programme (WFP), Sudan is on the brink of becoming the world’s largest hunger crisis, with 18 million people facing food insecurity. The conflict has caused unprecedented levels of hunger and violence, with the country’s inability to finance sufficient food imports has exacerbated the crisis.

Sudan’s war that erupted in mid-April last year has pushed people into starvation and created the world’s largest displacement crisis with more than 10 million people forced to flee their homes since April 2023, according to the UN migration agency.

The harrowing scenes of families being killed in front of their children, communities set ablaze, and desperate, hungry people fleeing violence paint a grim picture of Sudan’s current state. As the children’s cries fade away and communities burn, the result is an immense dislocation, hunger, and thirst—a prelude to famine and widespread death. The people of Sudan, abandoned and terrified, find themselves unprotected and unseen amidst the chaos.

Rising food and energy prices have exacerbated inflation, intensifying the hardships faced by its people. A burgeoning regional black market thrives, with essentials like fuel, wheat, and sesame being illicitly traded across borders. Meanwhile, divisions deepen within Sudan’s political landscape and among protesters in the streets.

World’s biggest displacement crisis

The ongoing conflict in Sudan has created the world’s most severe displacement crisis, with nearly 15 million people forced from their homes, according to the United Nations. As the country teeters on the brink of famine, officials warn that hundreds of thousands of children could die in the coming months due to starvation and malnutrition.

The roots of this crisis lie in a long-standing power struggle between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). This simmering dispute erupted into full-scale civil war in April 2023. Since then, the violence has escalated, turning Sudan into what many describe as the world’s worst humanitarian emergency. U.S. estimates suggest that as many as 150,000 people may have been killed since the conflict began.

As the violence rages on, millions have been uprooted from their homes, resulting in the largest displacement crisis on the planet. The United Nations highlights that South Sudan has borne the brunt of this mass exodus, receiving approximately 640,000 refugees from Sudan. The daily influx of around 1,800 new arrivals is putting immense strain on already overstretched infrastructure and deepening the humanitarian crisis in the region.