Sudanese health officials launched a 10-day oral cholera vaccination campaign in Khartoum targeting more than 150,000 people, as the country confronted an outbreak intensified by war, displacement, damaged services and seasonal rain. The campaign began on Sunday, according to health worker Aziza Berima, and included children and adults in the capital.
The operation followed a steep national rise in illness. Since Sudan declared the outbreak in July 2024, more than 83,000 cases and 2,100 deaths had been reported, the United Nations said, citing the national health ministry. More than 32,000 suspected cases had been recorded during 2025 by the previous month.
Khartoum had already experienced a severe surge. In one week in late May, authorities recorded more than 2,500 infections and 172 deaths. A separate 10-day campaign conducted around that period reached more than 2.2 million people, according to the World Health Organization. The August effort focused on a smaller target population in the capital.
The disease was also spreading in remote parts of western Sudan. The health ministry reported 1,440 suspected cases and 74 deaths in Darfur, while aid groups warned of dangerous conditions in Darfur, Kordofan, White Nile and River Nile. Crowded shelters, limited sanitation, scarce clean water and restricted medical care all create opportunities for transmission.
Cholera is caused by consuming food or water contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. It produces acute diarrhea and dehydration. Rehydration treatment and antibiotics can be effective, but severe cases may become fatal within hours when care is unavailable. Vaccination reduces risk, yet campaigns must operate alongside clean water, sanitation, surveillance and treatment.
Those supporting systems had been badly weakened by fighting between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. The conflict began in Khartoum in April 2023 and spread across the country. It had killed more than 40,000 people and displaced as many as 12 million, while pushing many communities toward famine.
Sophie Dresser of Mercy Corps-Sudan said the collapse of the health system made cases exceptionally difficult to track and contain. Returning residents also faced uncertainty: one Khartoum family described coming home after displacement and fearing cholera amid disorder, while saying the vaccination effort provided reassurance.
The campaign represented a targeted public-health response, not an end to the outbreak. Its impact would depend on reaching the intended population and on whether health workers could maintain prevention and treatment in areas where war and damaged infrastructure continued to drive exposure.
