Cholera outbreak in Sudan spreading as civil war continues: UN

UNITED NATIONS: On top of the civil war in Sudan and the battle to provide access to health care, UN humanitarians said on Wednesday the country’s cholera outbreak is worsening.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said the Federal Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that seven of the 18 states suffered nearly 3,000 suspected cases of cholera, including 89 deaths, as of Nov. 12, double the numbers reported less than three weeks ago.

“The United Nations and humanitarian partners are scaling up the response to the outbreak, including by supporting the detection and treatment of cases,” OCHA said. “Vaccination campaigns are expected to start in states affected by the outbreak by the end of November.”

The humanitarians said about two-thirds of Sudan’s population lack access to health care, and more than 70 percent of health facilities in conflict areas are out of service. Since the start of the war in April, the WHO has verified 60 attacks on health care in Sudan.

The WHO said the initial cholera outbreak was reported in the eastern state of Gedaref and soon was reported in the capital of Khartoum in the country’s east-central region and continued spreading.

Source – Xinhua