Tuesday, October 6, 2026
• The International Rescue Committee (IRC) announced that the end of bridge funding after US funding expired in July forced it to close 36 health facilities, 29 nutrition centers, 8 women's safe spaces and 6 children's safe spaces — leaving about 473,700 people without access to health care, nutrition, clean water and protection services, with Darfur hardest hit where famine is confirmed and malnutrition is rising (Source: International Rescue Committee — press release, October 1, 2026 — via ReliefWeb) • Sudan's cholera outbreak declined sharply: the World Health Organization recorded only 8 cases and no deaths in the week ending September 11, versus a peak of 421 cases in early July, bringing the total to about 2,955 cases and 250 deaths (case fatality rate 8.4%) — the organization had pre-positioned 60 tons of medical supplies enough for about 120,000 cases, while UNICEF-supported oral cholera vaccination reached 915,377 people with near-full coverage in West Kordofan, 99.7% in South Darfur and 87% in Tawila, and OCHA confirmed the decline in its September 29 briefing (Source: World Health Organization — September 24, 2026 statement via ReliefWeb; OCHA — September 29, 2026 briefing) • The WHO's third health emergency report (Eastern Mediterranean Region — August 2026 data) documented that funding cuts hit 335 health facilities in 13 states: 153 suspended operations and 182 operating at reduced capacity — the report also recorded 2,730 cholera cases and 246 deaths by end of August, and continued dengue transmission in 15 states (Source: WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean, September 27, 2026 — via ReliefWeb) • Reuters reported that ousted president Omar al-Bashir (82) was transferred from Merowe to a military hospital in Khartoum for tests; his lawyer said he needs treatment abroad, while his family described his condition as "critical and urgent" with no official travel permission issued yet (Source: Reuters — Khaled Abdel Aziz, October 1, 2026) • Federal Health Minister Dr. Haitham Mohamed Ibrahim announced, at a side event of the World Health Assembly in Geneva, that the catch-up vaccination campaign — in cooperation with the World Health Organization, UNICEF, Save the Children and the Gavi Alliance — reached about 450,000 children never before vaccinated by May 2026, with coverage exceeding 90% in 9 of 17 states, up from a 2024 low (48% — 880,000 infants missed the first dose) — warning that funding cuts could reverse these gains (Source: Federal Health Minister — via The Eastleigh Voice, September 29, 2026) • The Federal Ministry of Health announced the relaunch of the national health emergency call center via the free hotline (9090) — after three years of shutdown due to the war and the loss of all its equipment — to receive citizens' reports, provide awareness and debunk epidemiological rumors, supported by the World Health Organization, the UN Development Programme and the African Development Bank; the center, which operated 25 lines before the war, now runs 14 lines, and received more than 2.3 million calls between 2020 and April 2023 (Source: Nabaa Sudan — via the Federal Ministry of Health, October 6, 2026)
— Health Desk