The outbreak – which started in September 2024 and was confirmed a month later – comes in the midst of a prolonged humanitarian crisis worsened by rising inter -municipal violence, climate such as flooding and catastrophic hunger.

“Now, more than ever collective action is needed to reduce tensions, solve political differences, and make concrete progress in making peace,” said Anita Kiki Gbeho, the UN resident and humanitarian coordinator in South Sudan.

Alarming escalation

Since the cholera eruption was declared in October 2024, the UN agencies and partners have documented over 80,000 cholera cases and 1,400 deaths.

This is in addition to regional outbreaks of MPOX, hepatitis and measles among other transferable diseases.

South Sudanese authorities, civil society and UN agencies held an inter-ministerial meeting on Monday to discuss what they called an “alarming escalation” in the spread of the outbreak.

“This is not only a public health crisis, but a multis -sectoral emergency that worsens by floods, shifts and limited access to basic services,” the ministers wrote in a communicated.

The group decided to facilitate unobstructed humanitarian access to areas that already have outbreaks and to other areas that are at risk of outbreaks. The South Sudan’s government will coordinate these efforts.

Partners will also work with prepositional materials, improve water and sanitation infrastructure and coordinate proactive and reactive vaccination campaigns.

Time is running out

With the top of the rainy season on the horizon, the next eight weeks are critical to contain and mitigate the outbreak before severe flood begins.

“Time is the essence of preventing further escalation of the outbreak,” the officials wrote.

Floods more than twice the frequency of cholera outbreaks by implementing access to clean water and preventing humanitarian access to affected areas. And with rising global temperatures that make flooding more serious, millions of South Sudanese who were not previously in regions of concern can now be at risk of cholera outbreaks.

A preventable disease

Cholera is an acute diarrhea infection caused by ingestion of contaminated water or food. Although very transferable, it can be prevented through proper hygiene, regular hand washing, safe cooking and storage, improved sanitation infrastructure and vaccination.

Symptoms typically include aqueous diarrhea. Most cases are mild to moderate and can be treated effectively with oral rehydrating salts (ORS) mixed with clean, boiled water.

In severe cases, however, cholera can be fatal – sometimes within hours – if not treated quickly.

Infected individuals can also transfer the disease through their faeces for up to ten days, although they show no symptoms.

Need for additional funds

In South Sudan, the already inadequate water and sanitation infrastructure and overwhelming public health system is further aggravated as a result of displacement and conflict. This has matured the conditions for the spread of cholera.

The UN and its partners work quickly to predict emergency supplies, especially in these previous low -risk areas, but they are hampered by financing deficits. Agencies estimate that they need $ 1.69 billion – of which they have only received $ 368 million – to meet the many crossing humanitarian needs of the country.

Nevertheless, the group of ministers insisted that this outbreak is and must remain a priority for everyone involved.

“Cholera -response and flooding preparedness must be treated as urgent national priorities,” they said in communication.