16 cholera deaths reported in West Kordofan, Darfur vaccination drive begins

About 70 cholera cases and 16 deaths have been reported in villages in El Adiya locality, West Kordofan, as a vaccination campaign gets underway in Tawila, North Darfur.

Medical sources told Radio Dabanga that the first cases appeared in one of the villages on August 30 before spreading to neighbouring villages.

They said the area faces severe shortages of hospitals, medical staff, medicines and other essential supplies.

Dr Alaa Nugud, health minister in the Sudan Founding Alliance (Tasees) administration aligned with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), acknowledged new cholera outbreaks in the state.

He told Radio Dabanga that health authorities had recorded 104 cases and 10 deaths since outbreaks emerged in El Adiya at the beginning of September.

Nugud said health teams were responding to affected areas and coordinating with the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF to provide medical supplies and vaccines. He confirmed vaccination campaigns in En Nuhoud, El Fula and Wad Banda, targeting 675,315 people.

North Darfur campaign

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) announced a 10-day cholera vaccination campaign in Tawila, North Darfur, targeting at least 95,000 people with WHO support.

WHO said the cholera outbreak, first announced in June, has caused about 2,900 cases and 247 deaths across six Sudanese states.

Nugud warned that the war and limited resources continue to make containing new outbreaks difficult, but said authorities would maintain surveillance and coordinate with international health organisations.