UN briefing: cholera in Sudan, Ebola spread in DRC as response capacity scales up

Farhan, the United Nations spokesperson, said humanitarian and health partners are scaling up disease response in Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo amid continued insecurity.

"WHO said that as of July 7, there have been 1,330 confirmed cases and 114 confirmed deaths from the cholera outbreak," Farhan said, summarizing World Health Organization reporting and UN partner activities in Sudan. He added that partners are prepositioning supplies and stepping up preventive measures and community outreach to reduce transmission.

On the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Farhan said the Ebola response is expanding after confirmation of cases in additional provinces including Kisangani. He said recent gains include 85% of alerts being investigated, 80% of identified contacts traced and monitored, 11 decentralized laboratories now operational with testing capacity up to 250 samples per day, and an expanded treatment network of 22 Ebola treatment centers and seven transit centers providing about 700 beds.

Farhan warned that ongoing insecurity in parts of North Kivu and Ituri is hampering the response and noted recent attacks that caused civilian casualties and displacement in Beni territory. He called for enhanced protection of health workers and an unimpeded operating environment for humanitarian actors.

Why this matters: confirmed case counts, testing and bed capacity are critical measures for outbreak control; insecurity that prevents access undermines containment efforts.

The briefing did not announce new international deployments beyond those already coordinating with national authorities and WHO.