News Center _As the conflict in Sudan enters its fourth year, the country is witnessing an escalating wave of infectious disease outbreaks, amid a sharp deterioration in health services and difficulty in delivering aid to affected areas.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) confirmed yesterday, Thursday, May 21, that deteriorating security conditions and limited humanitarian work in Sudan are hindering international efforts to contain the outbreak of a number of epidemics and serious diseases that are killing civilians in many Sudanese states.

It noted that humanitarian organizations are racing against time to limit the spread of epidemics. The World Health Organization responded to a suspected outbreak of acute watery diarrhea (cholera) in West Kordofan State, after recording more than 100 suspected cases and dozens of deaths in just this week.

Reports confirmed that the Darfur region is witnessing a suspected outbreak of monkeypox in Central and South Darfur states, where more than 300 suspected cases and five deaths have been recorded in one week. At the same time, WHO continues to implement vaccination campaigns against cholera and measles in cooperation with local health authorities.

OCHA noted a sharp rise in dengue fever cases in the Northern and River Nile states, with suspected cases in the Northern State more than tripling over the past month to exceed 500 cases.

In a related context, it pointed out the continued targeting of infrastructure as a result of the ongoing conflict in Sudan, explaining that a health facility in South Kordofan State was destroyed, along with its medical equipment.

OCHA called on the parties to the conflict to adhere tointernational humanitarian law to ecsure the protection of civilians and vital facilities, and to facilitate the access of humanitarian aid , while warning that funding shortages threaten the continuity of relief operations in the country.

It is worth noting that the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a global hunger monitoring body, recently revealed that more than 40% of Sudan's population faces acute levels of food insecurity amid ongoing clashes between the warring parties and deteriorating security conditions.