Floods hit war-torn Sudan spreading disease and disrupting aid

Heavy rains and floods have battered parts of war-torn Sudan and contributed to a spread of diseases like typhoid and cholera exacerbated by the war-induced humanitarian crisis, international aid agencies have warned.

Thousands of Sudanese have been impacted by the flooding which has killed 114 people, Sudan's ministry of health said on Wednesday, in the latest crisis to hit the war-ravaged country.

Widespread flooding has been reported over the past weeks with the rainy season expected to continue into September.

There are fears the torrents will have a worse impact than previous years on the beleaguered population due to dilapidated civil infrastructure and shortage of food supplies with the country embroiled in a violent conflict since April 2023.

The rain has devastated hundreds of villages and swept away buildings, according to a report from the UN’s International Organisation for Migration (IOM) last week.

Floods have been reported in conflict hotspots including the capital city of Khartoum, as well as the states of Gezira, Kordofan and Darfur.

More than 20,000 people have been displaced since June in 11 out of 18 of Sudan’s states, the IOM said.

Othman Belbeisi, IOM's Regional Director for Middle East North Africa warned that conditions will "persist and worsen if the conflict and restrictions on humanitarian access continue".

"Without an immediate, massive, and coordinated global response, we risk witnessing tens of thousands of preventable deaths in the coming months. We are at breaking point, a catastrophic, cataclysmic breaking point," Belbeisi said last week.

The UN and Sudanese authorities have reported a surge in cholera cases from the torrential rains and there are fears for the spread of typhoid, both waterborne deadly diseases which spread rapidly.

Sudan's health ministry reported 556 cholera cases, mainly in the southeast Kassala state where thousands of civilians are sheltering in displacement camps. The ministry said 22 people had died from cholera in Kassala.

The flooding has also disrupted aid distribution desperately needed to alleviate soaring hunger and malnutrition rates.

The World Food Programme (WFP) said a record 3.6 million children were suffering amid levels of malnutrition not seen before in the country.

On Monday WFP said more than 50 trucks carrying thousands of tonnes of food assistance were stuck in various locations across the country due to blocked and flooded roads.

Further aid is stuck on the Chad side of the border, the agency said. It called on the warring parties to open more routes for aid.

The head of the UN refugee agency Filippo Grandi said on Thursday that aid had been successfully delivered through Chad to support people in Darfur.

"Thousands of lives are at stake. The parties to the Sudan war must ensure the safe passage of aid so this life-saving operation can continue," Grandi wrote on X.

Peace talks in Geneva led by the US are ongoing and finalising ways to open humanitarian routes, according to reports.

While the Rapid Support Forces sent a delegation to Switzerland, the Sudanese Army's absence has dimmed hope for an end to the hostilities.

The war has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced more than 10 million and shuttered more than 70 percent of Sudan's healthcare facilities, according to the UN.

More than 25 million people face hunger with famine recently declared in Zamzam camp in Darfur state.

Every year, the African country is hit by heavy rains which trigger health and environmental crises, but the ongoing conflict has destroyed critical infrastructure and public services leaving the population more vulnerable than before.

In 2020, Sudan was devastated by flooding which prompted a state of emergency with over 3 million people affected and more than 100,000 homes destroyed. The water level of the Nile River reached record levels.