At least 80 people have died and more than 2,100 cholera cases have been recorded across Sudan’s Darfur region, UNICEF reported Sunday.
The outbreak has struck hardest in Tawila, North Darfur, where 1,180 cases and 20 deaths were registered since late June, the agency said.
“Despite being preventable and easily treatable, cholera is ripping through Tawila and elsewhere in Darfur,” said UNICEF’s Sudan representative Sheldon Yett.
He warned that over 640,000 children in North Darfur alone are at risk of cholera, hunger, and escalating violence.
“Children’s lives, especially the youngest and most vulnerable, hang in the balance,” Yett said, calling for urgent, unhindered humanitarian access.
Across Sudan, the scale of the crisis is staggering—UN data shows 94,170 cholera cases and 2,370 deaths since August 2024.
The health disaster unfolds amid a civil war between the General Abdel Fattah al Burhan’s army and Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which began in April 2023.
Over 20,000 people have died and 14 million have been displaced, according to UN and local figures, though some estimates suggest over 130,000 deaths.
UNICEF says violence is overwhelming the humanitarian response, with needs rising faster than aid can reach those affected.
“Safe access is vital to turn the tide. These children cannot wait a day longer,” Yett urged in a plea to international actors.
As war and disease converge, Darfur’s children stand on the frontlines of Sudan’s deepening catastrophe, abandoned by diplomacy and besieged by disaster.
