A cholera outbreak at a camp for Sudanese refugees in Chad has claimed 68 lives since late July, the country’s health ministry confirmed on Tuesday.
The epidemic struck the Dougui refugee camp, where overcrowding and lack of clean water have accelerated the spread of the waterborne disease. By 26 August, authorities had recorded 1,016 cases, according to health ministry spokesman Tadjadine Mahamat Allamamine.
Chad hosts more than 850,000 Sudanese refugees who fled the civil war between Sudan’s army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) that began in April 2023. Most live in camps with poor access to safe drinking water and healthcare. The United Nations warned on Monday that these conditions fuelled the rapid transmission of cholera.
Cholera, an acute intestinal infection, spreads through food or water contaminated by faeces. It causes severe diarrhoea, vomiting, and dehydration, and can kill within hours if untreated. However, simple oral rehydration and, in severe cases, antibiotics can save lives.
Sudan remains the hardest-hit country, with medical charity Doctors Without Borders reporting more than 2,400 cholera deaths so far this year.