Already 68 dead in floods in Sudan
Heavy rainfall and flooding have resulted in a rise in the death toll to at least 68, according to aid organization CARE. "As a result of the flooding, families and individuals already suffering under the war across the country now have to cope with even more disease, displacement, and death," said Ebtesam Ahmed, head of CARE's office in the state of Kassala, regarding the worsening humanitarian crisis. Kassala currently hosts many internally displaced persons who have sought refuge there in recent weeks and months due to fighting in neighboring states.
Sudan has been grappling with a bloody power struggle for nearly 16 months between de facto ruler Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo. The conflict has sparked what the UN describes as the world's largest refugee crisis, with more than ten million people displaced or fleeing, many of them multiple times. The country also faces the threat of famine.
Flooded and impassable roads are making the transport of aid even more difficult. According to CARE, sanitation facilities and medical care have collapsed, posing a high risk of cholera and other diseases. The Sudanese health ministry has already reported nearly 300 cholera cases in three states, with at least 17 deaths.
The international community is urgently called upon to provide additional aid to The Sudan, given the displacement and health crisis caused by floods. This catastrophe is compounding the existing challenges in The Sudan, where war and displacement have already resulted in a significant humanitarian crisis.
