Attachments
Executive Summary
Cholera is endemic in South Sudan, with frequent outbreaks driven by risk factors such as recurrent flooding, displacement due to political instability, limited access to healthcare and inadequate water and sanitation services. The current outbreak was declared on the 28 of October 2024 and has surpassed 22,000 cases. The current outbreak is unusual in several aspects, including its timing - as it emerged at the end of the rainy season rather than during the typical beginning or peak - and a different V. cholerae serotype compared to previous outbreaks, which was introduced to the country. The main drivers of transmission likely include multiple introductions, widespread population movements and displacement, overcrowding, and poor Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) conditions exacerbated by recent flooding and poor socio-economic conditions.
While case numbers have stabilized in hotspots like Rubkona and Juba as of mid-January, a concerning increase in cases and deaths in hard-to-reach counties like Mayom, Guit and Fangak indicate that cholera is continuing to spread, and the outbreak is far from over. With a cholera outbreak being declared in Sudan in August 2024 and ongoing conflict driving cross-border movements, cholera cases in South Sudan were likely to appear. With the country’s limited WASH infrastructure, further worsened by displacement and the 2024 floods, the risk of a widespread outbreak was high.
\To address the current outbreak, we urge for proactive and rapid scaling of response measures in newly affected areas including vaccination with Oral Cholera Vaccines (OCV). Long-term efforts to prevent similar outbreaks in the future requires sustainable investments in development, particularly in infrastructure for WASH together with a proactive readiness to prevent cholera outbreaks when there is high risk of spillover into South Sudan.