Sudan: Attack leads to deadly wave of cholera in White Nile

Since the start of the latest cholera outbreak in Sudan’s White Nile State on February 20, more than 2,700 patients have been admitted to the Ministry of Health’s cholera treatment center at Kosti Teaching Hospital, supported by Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). Of these patients, 92 have died.

This current wave of cholera, a waterborne disease, was triggered by a mass power outage after the Rabak power plant was hit by a projectile from the Rapid Support Forces on February 16, according to reports. This led the community to rely mostly on water procured from donkey carts after water pumps went out of service. 

“Attacks on critical infrastructure have long-term detrimental effects on the health of vulnerable communities,” said Marta Cazorla, MSF emergency coordinator for Sudan. “Warring parties must adhere to the rules of war and ensure that civilians and critical infrastructure are protected.” 

The peak of this outbreak was between February 20 and 24, as patients and their families rushed to Kosti Teaching Hospital. The influx of cases, most of them severely dehydrated, overwhelmed the facility, and some patients had to be treated on the floor as the hospital and the cholera treatment center ran out of space.

To control the spread of the disease, the White Nile State Ministry of Health coordinated the outbreak response at community level by providing access to clean water, banning the use of donkey carts to transport water, and raising awareness through health promotion. Moreover, it managed a cholera vaccination campaign during the week of the outbreak. 

Attacks on critical infrastructure have long-term detrimental effects on the health of vulnerable communities. Warring parties must adhere to the rules of war and ensure that civilians and critical infrastructure are protected. - Marta Cazorla, MSF emergency coordinator for Sudan

The MSF team worked hand in hand on case management with the Ministry of Health staff from Kosti Teaching Hospital and additional medical staff from Rabak Hospital, supporting on-the-job training and supervision as well as providing incentives to the staff. 

Additionally, MSF mobilized logistics support from Port Sudan, Kassala, and Kosti, providing 14 metric tons of medical items such as medicines and treatment kits, as well as over 25 tons of logistical items such as beds and tents to Kosti to assist the response and expand the size of the cholera treatment center.  Moreover, the team provided the treatment center with clean water supply and storage as well as chlorination and infection control.