Disease Outbreaks Rising in Sudan as Health System Breaks Down

Since conflict erupted April 15, more than 4.6 million people have become displaced inside Sudan. This number, added to the more than three million who already were displaced within the country before the conflict, makes Sudan home to the world’s largest internally displaced crisis.

The World Health Organization warns the health system in Sudan is stretched to the breaking point and does not have the capacity to deal with the mounting health needs afflicting this enormous, vulnerable population.

WHO representative in Sudan, Ni’ma Saeed Abid, speaking from Port Sudan today, said health care is limited. Because of insecurity, he said, 70 to 80 percent of health facilities are non-functional in conflict hotspots.

He told journalists that displacement and shortages of medicines and medical supplies are placing millions of Sudanese at risk of severe illness or death from preventable and treatable causes.

He said that “conflict and the consequent massive displacement have driven the population further into a state of widespread malnutrition, with the lives of children hanging in the balance. Cholera, measles, dengue and malaria are circulating in several states. And a combination of any of these diseases with malnutrition can be lethal.

WHO reports 3.4 million Sudanese children under five are acutely malnourished, and 700,000 are suffering from severe acute malnutrition, which can lead to death.

Abid says outbreaks of cholera have been declared in Gedaref, Khartoum and South Kordofan states, with suspected cases reported from Al Jazirah and Kassal states.

“And there is a possibility of further expansion because of the quality of water supply, because of the sanitation and because of displacement," he said. "And the health care system in Sudan is now really at the breaking point. So, for all these reasons, we are expecting that we may see more states affected, more people affected.”

As of last week, WHO reports 1,962 suspected cholera cases with 30 lab-confirmed cases and 72 associated deaths. It estimates more than 3.1 million people are at risk of cholera until the end of December.

Abid says WHO has deployed 14 rapid response teams into the affected areas. He says WHO has stockpiled drugs and essential supplies for the treatment of cholera patients and is getting ready to receive oral cholera vaccines.