A rapidly escalating cholera outbreak in war-torn Khartoum has killed at least 70 people over the past two days, Sudanese health officials confirmed Thursday, as the capital faces one of its most dire public health emergencies since the onset of war over two years ago.

The Khartoum State Health Ministry reported 1,177 new cases and 45 deaths on Tuesday, followed by 942 additional infections and 25 deaths on Wednesday. The surge in cases comes amid a total collapse of basic infrastructure, exacerbated by the ongoing conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The latest outbreak has been linked to drone attacks, reportedly carried out by the RSF, which disrupted the capital's water and electricity supplies weeks ago. With sanitation systems crippled and hospitals shuttered, the spread of waterborne disease has intensified.

Over 90 percent of hospitals in key battlegrounds have been forced out of service, and health officials warn that deteriorating environmental conditions are accelerating the spread of cholera. In just the last week, 172 cholera-related deaths have been reported across Sudan, with Khartoum State accounting for 90 percent of them.

Despite efforts to contain the outbreak, Khartoum has recorded over 7,700 cases since January, including more than 1,000 cases in children under five. Total infections across Sudan have now surpassed 65,000, with more than 1,700 deaths reported in 12 of Sudan's 18 states since August 2024.

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) is mounting a large-scale emergency response in Khartoum, targeting high-risk communities and reinforcing essential water and health infrastructure.

“We are racing against time with our partners to provide basic healthcare, clean water, and good nutrition, among other lifesaving services, to children who are highly vulnerable to deadly diseases and severe acute malnutrition,” said Sheldon Yett, UNICEF Representative for Sudan. “Each day, more children are exposed to this double threat of cholera and malnutrition, but both are preventable and treatable—if we can reach them in time.”

UNICEF has provided water treatment chemicals and a 1,000 kVA generator to sustain operations at the Al Manara Water Treatment Plant, a critical facility that serves over one million people in Karrari and Old Omdurman. The agency is also distributing household water treatment supplies, deploying water chlorinators, and organizing rapid response teams to conduct chlorination and disinfection activities across affected communities.

Community outreach is also a core component of the response, with UNICEF using both door-to-door engagement and social media to disseminate information about the causes, symptoms, and prevention of cholera.

In addition, more than 1.6 million oral cholera vaccines have been delivered to Sudan this year, with immunization campaigns underway in high-risk areas. UNICEF is also supporting the deployment of frontline healthcare workers and the delivery of cholera treatment kits to overstretched health centers.

To address the nutrition crisis, UNICEF continues to support 105 outpatient malnutrition programs and four stabilization centers in Khartoum State, where rising rates of severe acute malnutrition are compounding the impact of the cholera outbreak.

Cholera is endemic to Sudan, but health officials note that outbreaks have worsened since the war began in April 2023. Two years of fighting have devastated infrastructure, displaced millions, and left large swaths of the population without access to clean water, sanitation, or healthcare.

Although the army-backed government announced last week that it had retaken key RSF positions in Khartoum, the city remains largely destroyed, with civilian services all but collapsed.

Humanitarian agencies warn that unless immediate international support is scaled up, thousands more lives could be at risk, particularly among children under five, who are disproportionately affected by both cholera and malnutrition. (ILKHA)