Nearly 40 percent of children under five in El Fasher, the capital of Sudan’s North Darfur, are suffering from acute malnutrition.
Of those, 11 percent are battling severe acute malnutrition, according to UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric in a press briefing.
The war-torn city is enduring catastrophic shortages of food and clean water as critical infrastructure collapses under the weight of ongoing conflict.
El Fasher’s water systems have failed due to years of neglect, damage from fighting, and a dire lack of fuel for maintenance. Once a vibrant regional hub, the city has become a flashpoint in Sudan’s brutal war, raging since April 2023 between rival military factions.
Some 780,000 people have fled El Fasher and nearby Zamzam camps, with over 500,000 displaced in just April and May of this year. The majority of Zamzam’s displaced residents have resettled near Tawila, where the UN and aid groups are struggling to deliver relief.
A cholera outbreak, fueled by failing water and sanitation systems, has further deepened the city’s humanitarian crisis.
Sudan has recorded over 32,000 suspected cholera cases in 2025 alone, a staggering toll in a collapsing public health system.
Two dozen people died of the disease last week in South Darfur, as efforts to contain the outbreak falter under conflict conditions. “Conflict and collapsing infrastructure continue to drive the spread of the disease and impede response efforts,” said Dujarric.
Since fighting erupted between General Abdel Fattah al Burhan’s army and the Rapid Support Forces, over 12 million people have been displaced.
With 4 million fleeing to neighbouring countries, Sudan’s war has unleashed one of the world’s worst humanitarian catastrophes.
