Two children die from tuberculosis in North Darfur as diseases spread

May 7, 2026 (TAWILA) – Two children have died from tuberculosis, and more than 100 others are infected at displacement camps in North Darfur, the Sudan Doctors Union’s preliminary committee said on Thursday.

The health crisis in the Tawila camps comes amid a collapse in local healthcare services and a halt in vaccinations, while a measles outbreak continues to spread across the region.

Conflict and road blockades in several states have severely restricted the delivery of essential medicines and medical supplies to Darfur.

Adiba Ibrahim Al-Sayed, an internal medicine specialist and committee member, told Sudan Tribune that 145 cases of tuberculosis were recorded in the Tawila camps in recent days.

A further 67 cases were documented in displacement camps in El Obeid, North Kordofan, though no recent deaths were reported there.

Al-Sayed attributed the rise in tuberculosis to widespread hunger, malnutrition, and severe overcrowding in displacement centres.

The lack of clean water and poor environmental conditions have particularly affected children, the elderly, and pregnant women.

Medical records also show 176 new measles cases and 24 cases of whooping cough across Central and North Darfur.

Health officials linked the spread of these preventable diseases to the breakdown of routine immunization programs.

A national vaccination campaign against measles and rubella is scheduled to begin in North Darfur on May 10, targeting children between nine months and 15 years old.