Port Sudan, August 4(Darfur 24)
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Monday that the lives of over 640,000 children under the age of five are at increased risk of violence, disease, and hunger in North Darfur.
It reported that recent assessments indicate that the number of children suffering from severe acute malnutrition in North Darfur has doubled over the past year.
It added: “With the cholera outbreak, this is a deadly combination: children weakened by hunger are more vulnerable to contracting and dying from cholera. Without safe and immediate access to life-saving nutrition, health, and water services, the risk of preventable deaths will continue to rise.”
It revealed that it had reported more than 1,180 cholera cases—including an estimated 300 among children—and at least 20 deaths in Tawila, North Darfur, since the first case was detected on June 21, 2025.
It stated that this number represents a rapid increase in the number of cases in the town, which has hosted more than 500,000 people displaced by violent conflict since April of this year.
UNICEF explained that the total number of cholera cases in Darfur as of July 30 was approximately 2,140, with at least 80 deaths recorded.
It added: “Vital supplies, including vaccines and ready-to-use therapeutic food, are largely depleted, and efforts to replenish them are becoming increasingly difficult with humanitarian access almost completely cut off and aid convoys looted or attacked.”
It stressed that continuing bureaucratic obstacles to the delivery of supplies and services have exacerbated the seriousness of the situation.
UNICEF Representative in Sudan, Sheldon Yate, said that although cholera is a disease that can be easily prevented and treated, it is spreading rapidly in Tawila and other parts of Darfur, threatening the lives of children, especially the youngest and most vulnerable.
He added, “We are working tirelessly with our partners on the ground to contain the outbreak and save lives – but the ongoing violence is increasing needs faster than we can meet them. We have been calling for, and continue to call for, safe and unhindered access to urgently turn the situation around and reach these children in need. They cannot wait another day.”
UNICEF is responding to the cholera outbreak through life-saving interventions in health, water, sanitation and hygiene, and community engagement.
In Tawila, the organization distributed oral rehydration salts sachets and reached 30,000 people with clean water daily through water tankers, in addition to rehabilitating water facilities and installing water storage systems.
UNICEF provided hygiene kits to 150 people in Daba Naira camp, the most affected by cholera in Tawila.