South Sudan is experiencing its most severe cholera outbreak in two decades, with nearly 700 deaths recorded over six months, the United Nations said on Monday.
According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the country has reported 40,000 cases between September 2024 and March 18, 2025, with half of the infections affecting children under 15.
The outbreak is among the worst in eastern and southern Africa, alongside Angola, which has reported over 7,500 cases and 294 deaths since January.
The crisis comes as South Sudan continues to struggle with insecurity and violent clashes between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and his rival, First Vice President Riek Machar.
The renewed fighting has displaced at least 50,000 people in Upper Nile State since February, worsening access to healthcare.
A cholera treatment unit in the state’s Nasir county was forced to shut down after 23 humanitarian workers were evacuated.
Cholera, a bacterial infection that causes severe diarrhoea and dehydration, can be deadly without immediate treatment.
South Sudan has faced a steady rise in cases over the past three years, with the last major outbreak between 2016 and 2017 killing 436 people.
In December, medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) warned of an “alarming and rapid increase” in cases.
The organisation treated over 1,200 people in just four weeks in Bentiu city, where 92 deaths were recorded.
With ongoing conflict and a fragile healthcare system, the outbreak poses a serious challenge to South Sudan’s already vulnerable population.
