A cholera outbreak at a refugee camp in Chad has claimed 68 lives since late July, the country’s health ministry confirmed on Tuesday.
The epidemic, which struck the Dougui refugee camp, has so far resulted in 1,016 cases, according to Tadjadine Mahamat Allamamine, the ministry’s communications director.
The outbreak underscores the fragile living conditions of the over 850,000 Sudanese refugees in Chad, who fled the brutal civil war between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces that began in April 2023.
The United Nations has blamed the rapid spread of the disease on poor access to clean water and healthcare in the crowded camps. Cholera, a waterborne disease caused by bacteria transmitted through contaminated food or water, leads to acute diarrhoea, vomiting, and muscle cramps. Without treatment, it can be fatal within hours, though rehydration therapy and antibiotics in severe cases are effective treatments.
Sudan remains the hardest-hit country in the region, with medical charity Doctors Without Borders reporting more than 2,400 cholera-related deaths this year alone.
The Chadian authorities, in collaboration with international partners, have stepped up efforts to contain the outbreak and provide urgent medical care to affected refugees.
