25-31 May: English news roundup - Cholera crisis, Khartoum’s healthcare collapsed, women and girls in Darfur at near-constant risk of sexual violence

1 Jun

By Samuel Hunt

Sudan 'on brink' of health crisis with cholera outbreak

In a report released this week, UNICEF has highlighted the growing threat of cholera in the war-torn country.
More than 7,700 cases and 185 associated deaths reported in Khartoum State alone since January 2025 [UNICEF].
Sudan's doctors' union said actual figures were far higher than those reported by the ministry, with hundreds dead in the capital alone [France 24]
Drone attacks have caused power outages at water purification stations, which have left people with no choice but to use unclean water [BBC].
The International Rescue Committee warns that vaccination coverage is low and that supplies are running out [IRC].

Women and girls in Sudan’s Darfur region are at near-constant risk of sexual violence, with the true scale of this crisis remains difficult to quantify, as services remain limited. [MSF]
Sexual violence has become so widespread in Darfur that survivors chillingly speak about it as unavoidable:

“The RSF also ordered us to stay with them. They told us, ‘You are the wives of the Sudanese army or their girls.’… Then they beat us and they raped us right there on the road, in public,” says a 17-year-old sexual violence survivor to MSF.

Sudan’s healthcare system has collapsed due to two years of civil war, leaving Khartoum’s hospitals destroyed or looted, and forcing desperate families to undertake dangerous journeys for basic medical care. [NPR]
Severe malnutrition is rampant, especially among children, with community kitchens shuttered, aid access restricted by warring factions, and more than 600,000 people facing famine.
Volunteer networks like the Emergency Response Rooms and facilities like Al Buluk Hospital are overwhelmed but remain critical lifelines, offering limited care under constant threat.
Freelance journalist, Mohammed Amin, barely recognizes Khartoum upon his return such is its destruction. The government has launched a campaign to get people to return, but conditions are unlivable. [The New Humanitarian]

RSF converts Zamzam camp into military barracks, escalating humanitarian emergency. RSF fighters reportedly replaced tents with fortified positions, installing checkpoints, and cutting off access to aid workers. [Africa News]
The WFP’s premises have been shelled by the RSF in El Fasher. In a statement WFP said, “Humanitarian staff, assets, operations and supplies should never be a target. This must stop now.” [Al Jazeera English]

A directive announced by Khartoum state on its official Facebook page said all relief initiatives in the state must register with the Humanitarian Aid Commission (HAC). Aid workers fear arrest and worsening of hunger crisis that already threatens millions of people.
The directive is raising concerns among ERRs who maintain a public stance of neutrality in to preserve humanitarian access irrespective of who controls the areas they operate in. [Al Jazeera English]

Destroyed bridges, blackouts, empty water stations and looted hospitals across Sudan bear witness to the devastating impact on infrastructure from two years of war. [Reuters]
Authorities estimate hundreds of billions of dollars' worth of reconstruction would be needed. [France 24]

Bill Greenwood