Sudan: Aid Workers Urge for State of Emergency Amidst Cholera Outbreak

Dozens of aid workers in in Sudan have pleaded with the government to declare a state of emergency in the country, after a deadly outbreak of cholera has spread throughout the north African country.

There have been 22 000 confirmed cases of cholera since the outbreak first started on 20 May. However, the Sudanese government under leadership of President Omar al-Bashir, have refused to acknowledge the situation as dire and has refused to declare a state of emergency.

Hossam al-Amin al-Badawi, of the Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors, has said that there has been 700 cholera fatalities in the country since 20 May.

Opposition leaders in the country say that the government is refusing to acknowledge the magnitude of the outbreak because it will reflect badly on them and reveal the ongoing failures in the country’s almost non-existent health system.

The Sudanese government and President al-Bashir has been ridiculed for their corrupt practises by the country’s opposition, activists and international leaders.

Despite doctors and aid workers asking the government to delay the start of the new school year, the Sudanese national news agency, SUNA, declared the start of the new school year on Sunday, saying that the cholera outbreak is ‘under control’.

Doctors say that the Sudanese government are also refusing to test for cholera in various regions, despite the deadly disease surfacing in five provinces and spreading rapidly.

Cholera is highly contagious, and the waterborne disease is a result of poor sanitation and the drinking of dirty water.

Neighbouring country, Egypt, has started screening passengers for Cholera flying in from Sudan at Cairo International Airport.

While the doctors in Sudan have appealed for international aid, it is not yet known if the United Nations will step in.

Aid workers in Sudan have asked residents to be vigilant and to be extra hygienic and avoid drinking dirty water and unsanitary situations.