Tawila was once a small market town in North Darfur, Sudan. Today, it hosts more people than most European capitals — with no infrastructure, no hospitals, no water system built to support them.
Situated approximately 50 kilometers (about 31 miles) west of El Fasher, Tawila has absorbed wave after wave of families fleeing conflict. The number of displaced people in the area nearly tripled between March and September 2025 alone, and the arrivals have not stopped. Between 250 and 300 people continue to arrive every single day. The displaced population now exceeds 715,000.
Getting there is itself a challenge. UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan Denise Brown described her own journey to Tawila as requiring five days, crossing three countries, using three aircraft and driving for several days, navigating dangerous frontlines that make direct access impossible. For aid workers, every mission is a logistical and security challenge.
Conditions on the ground remain dire. Seventy-four percent of displaced households live in informal settlements or open-air gathering sites. Seventy percent have required healthcare over the last three months, yet half have been unable to access treatment. Malnutrition, cholera and dengue fever continue to spread across overcrowded locations, while shortages of clean water and sanitation compound humanitarian needs. Nearly all families are unable to meet their basic daily requirements.
This is where UNDSS works.
On 14 and 15 May 2026, UNDSS Area Security Adviser (ASA) Faouzi Alimi met with INGO partners in Tawila to brief them on the evolving security situation in Darfur and discuss practical measures for planning and operations. He briefed partners on the Saving Lives Together Framework, to ensure a coordinated approach to security management across the humanitarian community and with the UN system. The engagement also included a site visit and hands-on discussions on road access and movement conditions — critical as the rainy season threatens to cut off supply routes that are already hard to reach.
"Working closely with our NGO partners is key to ensuring we can maintain access and deliver assistance despite growing operational challenges," said ASA Alimi.
This engagement is supported by the Sudan Humanitarian Fund, which enables UNDSS to support the United Nations and NGO partners in maintaining humanitarian access and delivering assistance in high-risk areas. Over the past two months, UNDSS has deployed multiple field missions across the region to strengthen coordination and support humanitarian delivery in some of Darfur’s most challenging operational environments.