A suspected mpox outbreak in Darfur has produced at least 200 suspected cases in the Jebel Marra area, and aid workers warn the true number is likely higher due to conflict-driven disruption of health services. There is no laboratory confirmation yet, but clinical reports point to mpox. Severe malnutrition and other co-morbidities in displacement camps could increase the risk of serious illness, particularly for children. Humanitarian agencies have mobilised funding and staff, but access, funding gaps and seasonal rains threaten the response.
Suspected Mpox Outbreak in Darfur: 200+ Cases Reported, Aid Workers Warn of Wider Spread
Aid workers fear that an mpox outbreak could disproportionately affect malnourished children - Adam Rojal
A suspected mpox outbreak has emerged in Sudan's conflict-affected Darfur region, humanitarian groups warn, threatening people living in overcrowded displacement camps.
At least 200 suspected cases have been reported across five towns in the remote Jebel Marra mountain area in central Darfur, according to aid workers on the ground. Save the Children's deputy country director in Sudan, Francesco Lanino, said the true number is likely much higher due to disrupted health services and limited access for responders.
“We really think the number [of cases] is much, much higher,” Mr Lanino said. “If we don’t act quickly, this could become a catastrophe.”
What Authorities and Aid Groups Are Saying
There has been no laboratory confirmation yet, but field reports, clinical assessments and photographs reviewed by experienced health workers point to mpox (formerly called monkeypox) as the probable cause. In response, Save the Children has mobilised emergency funding, sent medical personnel and supplied medicines to bolster local health facilities.
Health Risks and Vulnerable Populations
Mpox causes a raised, often painful rash and flu-like symptoms. While deaths are uncommon in many outbreaks, severe cases can be intensely painful and disfiguring. People with weakened immune systems—such as those living with HIV—or those with co-morbidities like diabetes, malaria or malnutrition face higher risks of severe illness and complications.
The infection causes a distinctive lumpy rash as well as flu-like symptoms - Adam Rojal
Sudan is concurrently facing a severe hunger crisis. The UN's 2026 humanitarian plan estimates that about 62% of the population (around 29 million people) are acutely food insecure. Malnutrition undermines immune responses, increasing the risk that mpox infections lead to severe complications or death—especially among children and pregnant women in Darfur's displacement camps, where wasting and acute malnutrition are widespread.
Operational Challenges
Chronic funding shortfalls and restricted humanitarian access have left many health centres without essential medicines and supplies. Seasonal rains, which began last month, are expected to turn unpaved roads to mud and further disrupt medicine deliveries and outreach efforts.
Why this matters: The convergence of conflict, poor access to care, widespread malnutrition and dense camp conditions raises the risk that a localized outbreak could escalate quickly unless testing, treatment and prevention measures are scaled up urgently.
Call to action: Aid groups are appealing for increased funding, laboratory support to confirm cases, vaccination where appropriate and unhindered access for humanitarian responders to deliver lifesaving care.
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