Cholera on the rise in Darfur

The number of cases of acute watery diarrhoea has increased noticeably in the past four weeks, with outbreaks reported in camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the western Sudanese region of Darfur, as well as urban areas, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said.

"We’re concerned because diarrhoeal diseases are a major killer of children," Edward Carwardine, UNICEF senior communications officer, said. "Forty percent of the collected stool specimens tested positive for cholera - all the more reason to accelerate our response.

"South Darfur has been a particular cause of concern, with five new suspected cases reported on 10 August and 13 on 11 August," he added. Since April, 701 cases had been reported in South Darfur alone.

According to the Sudanese Ministry of Health, the total cumulative number of acute watery diarrhoea cases for all northern Sudan since April is 5,953, with 196 fatalities. Besides Darfur, a high number of cases had also been reported in Khartoum State and Northern Kordofan.

Carwardine observed that during the rainy season, traditionally, a higher than average number of cases could be expected. "You can have chlorinated water sources, but if people are not using those safe sources, it doesn’t have an effect - that’s why there is a very big public information campaign under way."

The situation has been exacerbated by the limited access to IDP camps over the past weeks due to escalating violence in many of the camps and the killing of several Sudanese aid workers by angry mobs.

"The security situation has been very sensitive - in Zalingei, three water engineers working for the government were killed [by IDPs] due to misunderstandings of the nature of their work," Carwardine said. "But the issue has been resolved and access is good again. The chlorination of the water sources is happening again on a daily basis."

After the attacks, the African Union (AU) protection force resumed its activities in Kalma camp in South Darfur and Zalingei’s IDP camps on 10 August. In addition to police deployment, AU firewood patrols have also resumed outside the camps.

In total, an estimated 1.68 million people have benefited from a coordinated response to growing incidences of acute watery diarrhoea and cholera in the north of Sudan, as the Federal Ministry of Health, UNICEF, the World Health Organization (WHO), the state governments and NGOs stepped up their efforts to safeguard drinking water supplies, improve hygiene and food practices, and scale up case detection.

"By working together in this way, the overall situation with regard to cholera has started to improve and the disease has been brought under control in many areas," UNICEF Representative Ted Chaiban said. "New areas with the disease are, however, emerging and we remain determined to control the spread of diarrhoeal disease and prevent more deaths."

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