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U.N. warns steep fall in Sudan childhood immunization, cholera outbreak strains health system
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Summary
UN agencies reported that childhood immunization in Sudan fell from 94% in 2022 to about 48% this year and that cholera outbreaks in North Darfur are intensifying, straining limited treatment capacity.
United Nations agencies warned that childhood immunization rates in Sudan have fallen sharply and that suspected cholera outbreaks are overwhelming scarce health services in parts of Darfur.
Citing data from WHO and UNICEF, the U.N. spokesperson said vaccine coverage in Sudan dropped from about 94% in 2022 to roughly 48% this year, and that more than half of infants—about 880,000 children—missed their first dose of diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccine last year. The U.N. said that decline is driving outbreaks of preventable diseases such as measles and polio.
The spokesperson said UNICEF delivered 16 million vaccine doses for children under 1 in the first half of the year, including more than 3.5 million doses to Darfur, but said "far more is needed to avert a deepening public health catastrophe." The U.N. also reported that the cholera outbreak in North Darfur's Tawela locality—hosting about 330,000 displaced people from Zamzam Camp—has seen more than 300 suspected cases in just over two weeks. In the Cadada locality, a separate suspected cholera outbreak linked to contaminated water has reportedly claimed five lives.
The briefing noted severe funding shortfalls for Sudan: two mobile clinics on the Egypt–Sudan border closed on July 14 after funds ran out; they had served more than 2,700 people since mid-May. The U.N. called for urgent funding to scale up the response ahead of the rainy season, which increases disease spread and the lean season for food insecurity.
The U.N. said humanitarian partners plan assessments and service deliveries where security conditions permit and urged donors to fill funding gaps.
