Amid conflict, cholera outbreak accelerates hunger and starvation in Sudan

(OSV News) -- Catholic Church leaders have spotlighted a cholera outbreak in South Sudan and Sudan, as some faith-based humanitarian agencies moved to respond to the crisis.

As of Aug. 19, South Sudan had reported more than 88,000 cases and 1,500 deaths from the outbreak, which started in 2024. In July, the government said the outbreak was not a mere health crisis, but an emergency exacerbated by flooding, displacement and lack of basic services. Most affected are children, many of them under age 5.

"South Sudan is a very vulnerable country because of the very poor hygienic conditions, especially in those areas where there is conflict," Italian-born Bishop Christian Carlassare of Bentiu in South Sudan told OSV News.

The bishop said his diocese witnessed 120 casualties from cholera in December and January, but this was now under control, although agencies were still reporting some cases among the populations due to poor hygienic conditions.

"The people are living in very poor conditions due to insecurity, flooding and pollution," he said. "I think there is a need for concerted action to give back dignified living conditions to the population."

Bishop Carlassare said serious overcrowding and pollution are observed in camps constructed for the protection of displaced civilians during the conflict.

"There are very few facilities that provide clean water. The people collect water from the polluted pools and rivers rather than the treated sources or boreholes," he said. "The floods make everything worse. Stagnant water is covering a large part of the territory, and the people have little space where they can live."

The latest cholera outbreak in the country is aggravating the poverty situation, according to Bishop Carlassare, making it more urgent for the government and agencies to act on sanitation and peace.

"Where there is peace, people organize themselves properly and overcome challenges," he said.

On Aug. 14, the Catholic Medical Mission Board, or CMMB, an international faith-based medical development aid organization, said it was launching an emergency response in the South Sudanese states of the Upper Nile region and Central Equatoria.

The organization reported in early August that the outbreak had hit more than 85,700 people, many of them children under 14. The outbreak is reportedly marching alongside a deepening hunger crisis across South Sudan.

"Clean water and hygiene are essential to stop the spread of cholera," said Jacqueline George, CMMB South Sudan country director in a news release on Aug. 14.

The board is distributing purified water sachets for communities in Renk in Upper Nile and Juba in Central Equatorial State. The communities are without clean and safe water and need the sachets to curb the disease. The organization is also supporting a consortium of local and international actors in Upper Nile that is implementing a range of emergency responses.

Among other specific efforts, the board is supporting the oral cholera vaccination campaigns, led by the Ministry of Health, running two mobile clinics for childhood illnesses, emergency care, and nutrition services for displaced populations in Nasir county, and supporting cholera prevention and treatment education.

Neighboring Sudan declared an outbreak of cholera in August 2024, and reported Aug. 3 there have been nearly 100,000 cases and more than 2,300 cholera-related deaths in 17 out of 18 states since then.

The epicenter of the outbreak is Darfur, where the Sudan Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, the two adversaries in the country's war that started in April 2023, have shifted their battles. The paramilitary force and allies traditionally control most of the region, the size of Western Europe, except the strategic town of el-Fasher, which is under the army.

In April, the paramilitary encircled the city, the capital of North Darfur, blocking food and water supplies, and leaving thousands of people without humanitarian assistance.

El-Fasher hosts the Zamzam and Abu Shouk camps of displaced persons on its outskirts, but food in the city has become so scarce that people, especially children, are dying of starvation.
A cholera outbreak spreading in the camps has complicated the hunger crisis.

Father Abdallah Hussein, the vicar general of the Diocese of El Obeid, said the church was seriously concerned about the situation in Darfur and has frequently urged negotiation to allow aid to reach the people of the region.

"We keep talking about the crisis in Darfur, but it's difficult to reach people with humanitarian aid," he told OSV News in a phone interview. "The paramilitary is not allowing anyone into the city. So, it's very difficult for us to reach the people with food."

The priest said the militia was conducting looting sprees, while allowing the women to leave, but was retaining the men.

"There is cholera in the camps where the people are fleeing to, but there are no hospitals, doctors, or medicines. This is a terrible situation," said Father Hussein, adding that the most urgent need now was humanitarian assistance in the form of food to stop hunger and save the children from imminent death.

So far, none of the sides wants to brink, according to the priest, and it appears they are determined to settle the conflict through "the barrel of the gun."