A devastating cholera outbreak is sweeping through North Darfur, Sudan, amid an already dire humanitarian situation caused by ongoing conflict and hunger. According to UNICEF, over 1,180 cholera cases, including around 300 in children, have been reported in the town of Tawila, along with at least 20 deaths. The wider Darfur region faces an even grimmer toll, with nearly 2,140 cases and at least 80 fatalities.
The spread of the disease is being fueled by a collapse in health services, bombed hospitals, and overcrowded displacement camps. Tawila, just 70 kilometres from the besieged capital El Fasher, is now at the centre of multiple overlapping crises. Poor sanitation, limited access to clean water, and a breakdown in public health infrastructure have created conditions ripe for outbreaks. “Children whose bodies are weakened by hunger are far more likely to contract cholera and to die from it,” UNICEF warned. With the number of children suffering from severe acute malnutrition in the region having doubled in the past year, more than 640,000 children under five are now at extreme risk.
The cholera outbreak comes on top of Sudan’s spiralling humanitarian collapse. Since the war between rival military factions began in April 2023, the country has witnessed mass displacement, the destruction of critical infrastructure, and an increasingly unstable food system. Famine has already been declared in at least 10 locations, with many more at imminent risk. Meanwhile, Sudan’s high exposure to climate shocks, including floods and droughts, continues to intensify the deadly cycle of disease, hunger, and displacement.
In response, UNICEF is scaling up emergency efforts in Tawila and across Darfur, distributing Oral Rehydration Salts, chlorinated water, hygiene kits, and educational outreach on cholera prevention. Nearly 30,000 residents in Tawila now have daily access to safe drinking water. However, sustained humanitarian access remains a major challenge due to insecurity, looted convoys, and bureaucratic hurdles. UNICEF is calling for urgent funding, noting it requires $30.6 million to support its response, including the delivery of over 1.4 million oral cholera vaccine doses. “They cannot wait a day longer,” the agency stated.
Source: UN News
