Cholera outbreak kills near two dozen in Sudan
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00:00With limited resources, doctors do their best to treat patients at this hospital in the
00:05eastern Sudanese state of Kusala, where several people have died from cholera.
00:11After weeks of heavy rain, the war-torn country's health ministry has declared an epidemic of
00:15the disease, saying it's the result of weather conditions and contaminated drinking water.
00:21The problem in the area is that the vast majority of residents rely on river water as a source
00:28of drinking water, whereas it is polluted and needs treatment, and this requires volunteers
00:35to treat the water.
00:40According to the WHO, the conflict, which broke out between the Sudanese army and paramilitary
00:45rapid support forces in April last year, has exacerbated infections including cholera.
00:52The fighting has also left more than half of the country's population facing food insecurity.
00:58Sudan's government has agreed to send a delegation to Cairo for talks about implementing a previous
01:02humanitarian deal agreed by the warring parties in May last year.
01:07Those on the ground say such a deal is more crucial than ever.
01:11There have been kids in the therapeutic feeding centre where we receive children with malnutrition
01:22who are above one year old who looked like they are four or five months old.
01:29They can't walk.
01:30A lot of children, once they reach a stage of malnutrition, they stop eating even if
01:35some food is available.
01:36So it's a self-compounding problem.
01:40On Thursday, the Sudanese government agreed to reopen the Adra crossing on the border
01:44with Chad, a vital route for humanitarian aid to enter the country.
01:49The UN's World Food Programme has said it is ready to start delivering nearly 6,000
01:53tonnes of food through the crossing.