More than 1,180 cholera cases - including an estimated 300 cases in children - and at least 20 deaths have been reported in Tawila, North Darfur State, since the first case was detected on 21 June 2025. This represents a rapid surge in cases in the town, which has absorbed over 500,000 internally displaced people fleeing violent conflict since April this year.
Across the five Darfur States, the total cholera caseload as of 30 July has reached nearly 2,140, with at least 80 fatalities.
The conflict in North Darfur has intensified since April this year and, in addition to cholera, the lives of more than 640,000 children under five are at heightened risk of violence, disease and hunger. Hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to flee to Tawila, about 70 kilometres from the state capital, Al Fasher, where fighting continues. Those arriving in Tawila continue to face dangerous conditions, with limited food, water and shelter and the growing threat of disease.
In North Darfur, hospitals have been bombed, and health facilities in and around areas close to the fighting have been forced to shut down. Severely limited access to healthcare, combined with shortages of clean water and poor sanitation, heightens the risk of cholera and other deadly diseases spreading, especially in crowded displacement sites.
Recent assessments show that the number of children suffering from severe acute malnutrition in North Darfur has doubled in the past year. With cholera, this creates a lethal combination: children whose bodies are weakened by hunger are far more likely to contract cholera and to die from it. Without immediate and safe access to life‑saving nutrition, health, and water services, the risk of preventable child deaths will continue to escalate.
Lifesaving supplies, including vaccines and ready-to-use therapeutic food, have been largely exhausted, and efforts to replenish them are increasingly difficult as humanitarian access is almost entirely cut off, and aid convoys are looted or attacked. Continued bureaucratic impediments to the delivery of supplies and services have compounded the gravity of the situation.
"Despite being preventable and easily treatable, cholera is ripping through Tawila and elsewhere in Darfur, threatening children's lives, especially the youngest and most vulnerable," said Sheldon Yett, UNICEF Representative for Sudan. "We are working tirelessly with our partners on the ground to do everything we can to curb the spread and save lives - but the relentless violence is increasing the needs faster than we can meet them. We have and we continue to appeal for safe, unimpeded access to urgently turn the tide and reach these children in need. They cannot wait a day longer."
UNICEF is working to address the outbreak from all fronts, delivering life-saving interventions across health, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), and community engagement. In Tawila locality, Oral Rehydration Salts (ORS) sachets have been distributed, and nearly 30,000 people now access safe, clean, chlorinated water daily, through UNICEF-supported water trucking, rehabilitation of water yards, and installation of water storage systems. Hygiene supplies have reached 150,000 people in Daba Naira, while chlorine tablets are helping families treat water at home.
To curb the spread and support recovery, UNICEF is preparing to deliver over 1.4 million oral cholera vaccine doses and is working with partners to strengthen Cholera Treatment Centres. Supplies include cholera kits, soap, plastic sheeting, and latrine slabs. Community outreach efforts, through social media and in-person dialogues, are raising awareness on prevention and early treatment. UNICEF also coordinated the formation of a Cholera Emergency Room, now a hub for twice-weekly partner meetings. On the ground, UNICEF's technical experts are supporting local case management, surveillance, infection prevention, and the training of community health volunteers.
UNICEF continues to call on the government and all other concerned parties to urgently facilitate sustained, unimpeded, and safe access to reach children in Tawila and across the Darfur States to prevent loss of young lives.
