Cholera patients being treated at MSF-run hospital. (Photo: FILE/MSF).

Nyirol County’s Health Director (CHD) in Jonglei State has reported 427 cholera cases and 44 deaths, as the outbreak rapidly spreads across South Sudan for the past four months, straining an already fragile health system.

Tiwtiw Kun said the outbreak has caused significant challenges particularly in the far-flung Chil payam, where there is limited telecommunication connectivity.

He added that reports are often transmitted via long-range radio communication, which is unreliable at times.

Mr. Kun also noted that in the MSF-funded Lankien hospital, there were 24 admissions and one death reported on Monday alone. He said 23 of those cases are currently under treatment.

In an interview with Eye Radio, he said Nyirol has reported a cumulative total of 44 deaths from the cholera epidemic.

“As of today, we have cumulative of 427 applicated in the program and our cumulative deaths are 44 and actually cumulative admission are 77 and cumulative discharge are 83,” he said.

“In Chil, we have a lot of challenges. There is no MTN network and we get the reports through the long-range radio communication, sometimes it is not working sometimes it is working.”

South Sudan first declared a cholera outbreak in October 2024 and 33,000 cases have been confirmed across the country, as health authorities still grapple with the situation, four months on.

This is despite the ministry’s recent insistence that the cholera outbreak was under control because the rate of infections was allegedly declining due to prevention measures and the availability of the oral vaccines.

At least two million cholera vaccines were donated to the country by global health agencies as part of international efforts to control the spread of the disease.

Mr. Kun said the Ministry of Health in Juba has allocated oral vaccines and the state is working with local authorities to launch a vaccination campaign in Nyrol County, starting this week or next.

“We are now preparing micro plan for us to have the campaign of oral vaccination starting this week or coming week. Nyirol, you know, is also among the counties that have been allocated the vaccines and is also among the counties that will be vaccinated soon.”

According to World Health Organization (WHO),  the ongoing influx of people fleeing the conflict in Sudan increases the risk of infectious disease outbreaks like cholera and continues to exert pressure on an already fragile health system,

Persistent chronic gaps in healthcare, funding cuts, dire water and sanitation conditions and gaps in other essential services in South Sudan have also created the perfect conditions for cholera to spread, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said.

MSF stated that the outbreak was getting worse for people living in IDPs camps who have faced appalling conditions for many years, which have continued to deteriorate as donor funding has diminished.