By Anjali Sharma
UNITED NATIONS – UNICEF on Sunday warned that cholera is spreading through North Darfur, Sudan, threatens thousands of children weakened by hunger and displacement, as aid convoys struggle to reach cut-off communities amid escalating conflict.
The agency said that over 1,180 cholera cases including an estimated 300 in children and at least 20 deaths have been reported in Tawila, a town that has absorbed over half a million people fleeing violence since April.
Across the wider Darfur region, the toll is even more alarming: nearly 2,140 cases and at least 80 fatalities as of 30 July.
Sheldon Yett, UNICEF Representative in Sudan said “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,” .
UN agency stressed that hospitals bombed and many health facilities shuttered, Tawila has become a flashpoint of overlapping crises.
It said limited access to clean water, poor sanitation and overcrowded camps have created ideal conditions for the disease to spread.
The cholera outbreak is unfolding against a backdrop of deepening catastrophe.
The critical infrastructure has been decimated, millions displaced and food systems dismantled.
Famine has been declared in at least 10 locations, including the vast Zamzam camp, with over a dozen more areas at risk.
Sudan’s extreme vulnerability to climate shocks – from droughts to devastating floods has compounded the crisis, leaving families to navigate the deadly intersection of conflict, hunger, disease and environmental collapse.
More than 640,000 children under five in North Darfur alone are now at risk. Recent assessments show that the number of children suffering from severe acute malnutrition in the region has doubled in the past year.
UNICEF warned “Children whose bodies are weakened by hunger are far more likely to contract cholera and to die from it.”
“They cannot wait a day longer.”
UNICEF has called on all parties to ensure sustained, safe and unimpeded humanitarian access.
Bureaucratic delays, looted aid convoys and active fighting have hampered the delivery of vital supplies, including vaccines, therapeutic food and medical kits.
The agency is scaling up its emergency response in Tawila and across Darfur, distributing Oral Rehydration Salts chlorinated water and hygiene kits.
Over 30,000 people in Tawila have daily access to safe drinking water, while outreach teams are raising awareness on prevention and early treatment.
UNICEF plans to deliver over 1.4 million doses of oral cholera vaccine and bolster treatment centres.
Additional supplies – soap, latrine slabs, plastic sheeting – are being readied, though access remains the greatest obstacle to support long-term containment.
Some 94,000 cholera cases and over 2,370 deaths have been reported across 17 of Sudan’s 18 states.
UNICEF said it urgently requires $30.6 million to fund its emergency cholera response.
