The Youth Future Alliance (TYFA)

Disruption of Health, Water and Essential Civilian Services in Darfur

Report Reference: TYFA-SDN-DAR-ESS-003/2026
Field Locations: El Daein, East Darfur; Nyala, South Darfur; El Geneina, West Darfur
Reporting Organisation: The Youth Future Alliance (TYFA)
Programme: Humanitarian Monitoring and Community Reporting
Sector: Health / WASH / Essential Services / Protection
Reporting Date: 26 September 2026
Field Evidence Period: September 2025 – September 2026
Classification: Public Humanitarian Field Report

1. Executive Summary

Communities across Darfur continue to experience serious disruption to healthcare, water, education, markets, transportation and other essential civilian services as a consequence of prolonged conflict, displacement, infrastructure damage and constraints on humanitarian operations.

This report focuses on El Daein, Nyala and El Geneina, drawing on publicly available humanitarian evidence together with testimony collected directly by The Youth Future Alliance (TYFA) from displaced people, residents and returnees, community representatives and humanitarian workers in these three cities.

The wider humanitarian context remains severe. UNICEF estimates that 33.7 million people across Sudan require humanitarian assistance, including 17.3 million children. During the first half of 2026, UNICEF and partners nevertheless provided 6.6 million people with access to safe water and supported approximately 1.3 million people with primary healthcare, demonstrating both the scale of humanitarian intervention and the continuing level of need. UNICEF

Darfur remains particularly affected. UNICEF reported in April 2026 that violence, hunger and displacement continued to affect children across the region, with homes burned and markets, schools and health facilities damaged or destroyed. UNICEF

Evidence reviewed for this report also demonstrates that the situation differs substantially between individual Darfur cities. For this reason, TYFA does not treat Darfur as a single homogeneous humanitarian environment.

2. Purpose and Scope

The purpose of this report is to document the condition and accessibility of essential civilian services in three major Darfur urban centres:

El Daein — East Darfur

Nyala — South Darfur

El Geneina — West Darfur

The assessment concentrates on:

healthcare; water and sanitation; education; markets and food access; electricity and communications; transportation and humanitarian supply routes; displacement; livelihoods; and civilian access to essential services.

The report combines external humanitarian evidence with TYFA primary-source testimony.

Where information comes from UN agencies or other external organisations, the source is explicitly identified.

Where information was provided directly to TYFA, it is identified as TYFA testimony.

Where TYFA personnel personally observed a condition, it should be identified as TYFA Direct Observation.

3. Regional Humanitarian Context

Darfur continues to experience overlapping humanitarian pressures associated with conflict, displacement, food insecurity, disease, infrastructure damage and restricted humanitarian access.

UNICEF reported in May 2026 that approximately 19.5 million people across Sudan were experiencing IPC Phase 3 or worse acute food insecurity. Approximately 17 million people lacked safe drinking water, while an estimated 24 million lacked adequate sanitation. Around 40% of health facilities nationally were reported non-functional. UNICEF

Darfur and conflict-affected areas of Kordofan have also experienced some of the country's most severe disruption to education. UNICEF reported in May that more than eight million children remained out of school nationally, with the most severe disruption concentrated in Darfur and conflict-affected Kordofan. UNICEF

4. TYFA Evidence Collection

Primary-source evidence

Interview period: September 2025 – September 2026

Locations: El Daein, Nyala and El Geneina

Source categories: Displaced persons / returnees / residents / community representatives / humanitarian workers

Consent obtained: Yes

Identity protected: Yes

Corroboration: Multiple sources and available documentary evidence

Evidence references

TYFA should assign city-specific witness identifiers:

El Daein: TYFA-SDN-ESS-003-ED-W01 onward

Nyala: TYFA-SDN-ESS-003-NY-W01 onward

El Geneina: TYFA-SDN-ESS-003-EG-W01 onward

5. El Daein — East Darfur

5.1 Healthcare

El Daein experienced a particularly serious incident affecting healthcare infrastructure in March 2026.

The United Nations reported that a drone strike hit El Daein Teaching Hospital on 20 March 2026, killing at least 60 people, including children and health workers. The UN Secretary-General condemned the attack. The United Nations in Sudan

The September 2026 UK government humanitarian country assessment, citing OHCHR and Health Cluster reporting, states that the attack rendered key hospital services inoperable and left a substantial catchment population without a comparable nearby health facility. GOV.UK

This incident demonstrates the broader humanitarian consequences of damage to a major medical facility: the effects extend beyond those killed or injured during an incident to patients who subsequently lose access to treatment.

TYFA  separately document what witnesses in El Daein personally observed concerning the hospital and subsequent availability of healthcare.

5.2 TYFA Testimony — El Daein

Evidence classification: TYFA Direct Testimony

Witnesses interviewed by TYFA in El Daein between September 2025 and September 2026 described disruption affecting access to essential services.

Witness ED-W01 reported: ED-W01-DT-005

Witness ED-W02 reported: ED-W01-DT-006

Corroboration: photographs / medical documentation / additional witnesses

Multiple witnesses interviewed separately by TYFA described reaching essential healthcare services become tough and not available.

6. Nyala — South Darfur

Nyala remains an important population and humanitarian centre in South Darfur.

The broader conflict has significantly affected civilian infrastructure in the city. A January 2026 Global Protection Cluster assessment identified Nyala among Sudanese urban centres where conflict had affected civilian infrastructure including hospitals, markets, schools, water networks, power infrastructure and transportation facilities. GOV.UK

At the same time, humanitarian operations have continued where access permits.

UNICEF's January 2026 reporting records a measles-rubella vaccination campaign covering Nyala South, Nyala North and East Jebel Marra, as part of a wider campaign that reached more than 540,000 children across those locations and Tawila. UNICEF

7. TYFA Testimony — Nyala

Evidence classification: TYFA Direct Testimony

TYFA witnesses from Nyala should be recorded independently from the other two cities.

Interview records should document:

Witness code: TYFA-SDN-ESS-003-NY-W-DT
Interview date: July 2026
Location: Nyala
Source category: [resident/displaced person/returnee/humanitarian worker]
Consent: Yes
Identity protected: Yes
First-hand observation: Yes
Supporting evidence: TYFA-SDN-ESS-003-NY-W-DT

Testimony

Between September 2025 and September 2026, TYFA collected testimony in Nyala concerning access to healthcare, drinking water, markets, transportation, education and livelihood opportunities.

8. El Geneina — West Darfur

El Geneina presents a somewhat different humanitarian environment.

Public reporting from June 2026 described markets and hospitals operating in the city but documented continuing problems involving food and drinking-water costs, displaced populations and insufficient humanitarian assistance. Al Jazeera

UNICEF reporting also confirms ongoing humanitarian operations in West Darfur. In January 2026, integrated nutrition activities included El Geneina, while humanitarian supply routes through Chad have been used to move vaccines and other supplies into Darfur. UNICEF

A more accurate assessment classify a service as:

Operational: partially 

Operational with reduced capacity: Yes

Partially operational: Yes

Temporarily non-functional: Yes

Destroyed: Hospitals

9. TYFA Testimony — El Geneina

Evidence classification: TYFA Direct Testimony

Witnesses interviewed in El Geneina should receive identifiers beginning:

TYFA-SDN-ESS-003-EG-W01

The testimony section should document what individuals personally experienced.

Witness EG-W03 reported having difficulty obtaining drinking water during July 2026 and people experience lack of healthy drinking water.

Three witnesses interviewed separately by TYFA reported paying substantially higher prices for drinking water during July 2026.

10. Water and Sanitation

Water access remains a major humanitarian concern across Sudan.

UNICEF and other UN agencies estimated in May 2026 that approximately 17 million people lacked access to safe drinking water and 24 million lacked adequate sanitation nationally. UNICEF

During the first six months of 2026, UNICEF and partners reported providing approximately 6.6 million people with access to safe water, including through emergency WASH activities. UNICEF

TYFA's city-level assessment supplement these national figures by recording: water source; approximate distance households travel; waiting time; availability; price where water is purchased; whether treatment/chlorination is available; reported interruptions; and the number of households interviewed.

11. Health Services

Healthcare remains under severe pressure across Sudan.

In addition to the El Daein Teaching Hospital incident, WHO-verified attacks on healthcare have caused extensive loss of life since the beginning of the conflict. The UN reported in March 2026 that WHO had verified more than 200 attacks affecting healthcare since April 2023, resulting in more than 2,000 deaths. The United Nations in Sudan

Disease outbreaks and malnutrition further increase pressure on available services.

Nevertheless, humanitarian health interventions continue. UNICEF reported that supported health services reached approximately 214,700 people across Sudan during July 2026, while more than three million vaccine doses were delivered through cross-border operations into difficult-to-reach areas of Darfur and Kordofan. UNICEF

The evidence therefore points to a health system experiencing serious disruption alongside continuing local and humanitarian service provision, rather than uniform absence of healthcare throughout Darfur.

12. Education

Conflict and displacement continue to disrupt education.

UNICEF reported that more than eight million children remained out of school in May 2026, with Darfur and conflict-affected Kordofan experiencing particularly severe disruption. UNICEF

TYFA field monitoring in El Daein, Nyala and El Geneina document:

Evidence code: DT-TYFA-SDN-ESS-0050-EG-W01
Location
Date visited: June 2026
Building condition: Non Functional 
Operational status: Non Functional 
Estimated attendance if reliably established: None
Use as displacement shelter, if directly observed: Yes
Photographic evidence: DT-TYFA-SDN-ESS-0050-EG-W01
Source of information: DT-TYFA-SDN-ESS-0050-EG-W01

13. Markets, Food and Livelihoods

Markets are particularly important indicators of civilian recovery because their operation affects food availability, household income and livelihood opportunities.

UN humanitarian agencies have identified destruction of markets, disruption of supply routes and restrictions on movement among the factors contributing to Sudan's food-security emergency. UNICEF

In El Geneina, June 2026 reporting indicated that markets had reopened but residents continued to face high food and drinking-water costs and inadequate humanitarian assistance. Al Jazeera

14. Humanitarian Access

Darfur's humanitarian response depends substantially on maintaining supply corridors.

UNICEF reported that humanitarian supplies have entered Darfur through cross-border operations from Chad. In late 2025, vaccine shipments reached hubs including El Geneina, Nyala and El Daein, illustrating the importance of these cities within regional humanitarian logistics. UNICEF

Access remains vulnerable to insecurity and infrastructure damage. FEWS NET reported that a June 2026 drone strike damaged the Ardamata Bridge in El Geneina, describing it as an important route for assistance into Greater Darfur and Kordofan. FEWS NET

15. Protection of Witnesses

Because TYFA now has witnesses in El Daein, Nyala and El Geneina, protection of source identities becomes particularly important.

The public report codes:

ED-W01 — El Daein witness
NY-W01 — Nyala witness
EG-W01 — El Geneina witness

16. TYFA Preliminary Findings

Based on external humanitarian evidence and the testimony being collected by TYFA, this report identifies several issues requiring continued monitoring.

First, essential services across Darfur have experienced substantial disruption, but the extent varies significantly between cities and over time.

Second, healthcare infrastructure remains particularly vulnerable. The March 2026 strike on El Daein Teaching Hospital demonstrates how a single incident affecting a major medical facility can reduce healthcare availability for a much wider civilian population. The United Nations in Sudan

Third, humanitarian services continue despite severe constraints. Vaccination, nutrition, WASH and healthcare interventions remain active in parts of Darfur. UNICEF

Fourth, the existence of an operational market, hospital or water point does not necessarily mean that the civilian population can afford, reach or consistently access the service.

TYFA should therefore measure both availability and accessibility.

17. Evidence Classification

For Report 03, TYFA should use the following classifications:

A1 — TYFA Direct Observation
Personally observed by a TYFA field monitor.

A2 — TYFA Photographic/Video Evidence
Original visual evidence collected by TYFA with date/location information where safely available.

B1 — First-hand Witness Testimony
The person personally experienced or witnessed the event.

B2 — Community/Humanitarian Source
Information provided by a community representative or humanitarian worker.

C — Independently Corroborated TYFA Finding
Supported by multiple independent TYFA sources and/or documentary evidence.

D — External Authoritative Source
UN, IOM, WHO, UNICEF, WFP or another clearly identified external organisation.

E — Unverified Report
Received by TYFA but not sufficiently corroborated.

18. Limitations

TYFA's evidence does not constitute a statistically representative survey of the entire populations of El Daein, Nyala or El Geneina unless a formal sampling methodology is subsequently implemented.

Witness testimony reflects the experiences of the individuals interviewed.

Conditions can also vary significantly between neighbourhoods within the same city and change rapidly.

National and Darfur-wide statistics cited from humanitarian organisations should therefore not automatically be interpreted as measurements of conditions in all three TYFA field locations.

Where TYFA has not independently established responsibility for an incident, the report does not make such an attribution.

19. Conclusion

Available humanitarian evidence indicates that conflict continues to affect access to essential civilian services throughout Darfur.

El Daein, Nyala and El Geneina provide three important locations through which TYFA can monitor how these pressures affect civilians at city level.

The evidence also demonstrates that humanitarian conditions are complex. Some services continue operating, sometimes with humanitarian support, while other facilities have been damaged, interrupted or operate below previous capacity.

Principal References

UNICEF — Sudan Humanitarian Mid-Year Situation Report 2026

UNICEF — Darfur: Children Under Threat, April 2026

UNICEF — Risk of Famine and Acute Food Insecurity, May 2026

United Nations — Statement on the El Daein Teaching Hospital attack, 24 March 2026

UNICEF — July 2026 Sudan Humanitarian Situation Report

Prepared by: The Youth Future Alliance (TYFA)
Humanitarian Monitoring and Community Reporting Programme
Report Reference: TYFA-SDN-DAR-ESS-003/2026
Field Locations: El Daein • Nyala • El Geneina, Darfur, Sudan
Reporting Date: 26 September 2026
Website: The Youth Future Alliance