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Cholera surge and water collapse
Sudan’s cholera outbreak has accelerated after the war damaged health and water-supply infrastructure, with the Sudanese Ministry of Health reporting on May 27, 2025 that there were 2,729 cholera cases and 172 deaths in just seven days.
“Amid long rows of jars and barrels in Block 51 in the Dar es Salaam area, west of Omdurman, residents continue to face a chronic water crisis they say has stretched for years, in the context of weak basic services and the absence of stable supply networks, while humanitarian initiatives and organizations try to alleviate the crisis by distributing water periodically”
Linfo.re says the Federal Emergency Operations Center recorded the same 2,729 cases and 172 deaths in one week, and that Khartoum state accounts for up to 90% of new infections.
The same Linfo.re report links the spread to contaminated water or food and says the disease can kill quickly if untreated, while describing hospitals as overwhelmed and short of beds.
Linfo.re also reports that the doctors’ union said 90% of facilities had to close temporarily, and that the Red Cross confirmed between 70% and 80% of facilities are out of operation in affected areas.
Khartoum’s daily struggle for water
In Omdurman, residents described a chronic water crisis in Block 51 in the Dar es Salaam area, west of Omdurman, where they say weekly distribution does not last long enough for household needs.
Al-Jazeera Net reports that one resident said water arrives once a week in many cases but “it runs out within only two days due to population density and high consumption,” and that many families cannot afford water.
The same Al-Jazeera Net coverage says residents have been calling for years to dig wells inside the area and to provide electricity to run nearby water sources, because distant wells are not a practical solution.
Al-Jazeera Net also quotes Musa Hamad, supervisor of water distribution in the East Nile and Ombda districts, saying water distribution efforts began more than three months ago to reach areas most affected by water shortages or with sources unfit for drinking.
Famine threat and emergency aid
France 24 reports that the United States announced on 14 June an emergency aid package of 315 million dollars for Sudan, which it says is threatened by famine of an “ampleur historique.”
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France 24 adds that the aid would include food and potable water, as well as emergency screening and treatment for malnutrition in children.
France 24 also describes how the conflict between the army and the paramilitaries of the Forces de soutien rapide has displaced more than 9 million people, and that more than 650,000 have found refuge in South Sudan.
In the same report, France 24 says residents in Sudan’s cities including Khartoum, Omdurman and Port-Soudan face daily water shortages, and that people buy untreated water transported by donkey-drawn carts at “des prix exorbitants.”
