A cholera outbreak in the Abyei Administrative Area risks spreading further if water and sanitation conditions are not urgently improved, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) warned.
Health authorities in Abyei officially declared a cholera outbreak on June 11 following a continued rise in reported cases.
South Sudan has been grappling with a widespread cholera outbreak since September 2024, with cases reported across multiple states, including Unity, Jonglei, Upper Nile and Central Equatoria, which hosts the capital, Juba.
The Abyei Special Administrative Area in the northwest is one of the latest areas affected. People in Abyei, whether displaced or part of host communities, are living in overcrowded areas with limited access to basic services.
MSF said the situation was particularly concerning in informal settlements like Amiet market, where more than 50,000 people who fled the war in Sudan live with limited access to safe drinking water and sanitation infrastructure, increasing the risk of disease spread.
“The situation in Amiet is critical. Patients admitted with cholera to Ameth Bek Hospital in Abyei town confirm an active outbreak. The risk of spread to Abyei town is high, especially with the return of the rains, extremely poor hygiene conditions and the continued increase in the number of people arriving from Sudan into an already overcrowded space,” said Stéphanie Dongmo, MSF project coordinator in Abyei.
MSF has been responding to the crisis, treating patients with symptoms consistent with cholera, such as acute watery diarrhea, at its 20-bed cholera treatment unit in Ameth Bek Hospital since April 11.
The agency said a total of 333 suspected cholera cases were treated at the MSF unit between June 2 and 28.
The past three weeks have seen a significant surge, with 80 patients treated between June 9 and 15, 77 between June 16 and 22, and 94 between June 23 and 28.
MSF warned that ensuing floods are likely to cut off access, complicate aid logistics and accelerate the spread of waterborne diseases like cholera.
The medical agency called for the urgent rollout of cholera vaccines and vastly improved water, sanitation and hygiene programs by all aid groups in affected areas.
Immediate action, it said, is crucial to save lives and prevent further escalation of the public health emergency in Abyei.