UNDP and LIXIL, through its SATO sanitation brand, will deploy emergency toilet and handwashing systems across displacement sites in Blue Nile. As part of the collaboration, LIXIL will deliver 30 end-to-end toilet systems and 40 handwashing taps to Sudan, while UNDP teams on the ground will install them in emergency settings across Blue Nile – reaching displaced people and refugees in locations where no sewerage infrastructure exists. The pilot initiative will also assess the suitability of these systems for future scale up across Sudan.

The situation is urgent

Blue Nile has become one of Sudan’s fastest-moving displacement crises. Since fighting escalated in January 2026, some 60,000 civilians have fled their homes and are now living across makeshift sites in Blue Nile, most without adequate shelter, clean water or sanitation. In total, Blue Nile hosts more than 375,000 displaced people.

Seasonal flooding has since made things worse, collapsing shelters and flooding displacement camps, deepening a crisis that was already stretching local emergency responders and volunteers far beyond their capacity.

The world’s largest crisis

Sudan is currently the site of the world’s largest humanitarian emergency, with more than 33 million people in need of assistance and 21 million requiring health services. Since fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces broke out in April 2023, the country’s health and water infrastructure has been severely degraded, and disease outbreaks are much more widespread.

Cholera has been the starkest example. A major outbreak that swept through all 18 of Sudan’s states between 2024 and early 2026 infected more than 124,000 people and killed over 3,500 before it was declared over in March 2026 – only for a new outbreak to emerge a few months later. Measles, diarrhea and TB have also spread through crowded displacement sites with limited access to clean water and functioning health services.

Saving lives

By installing 30 complete toilet systems and 40 handwashing stations directly in emergency settings across Blue Nile, the project will give thousands of displaced people access to safe, dignified sanitation for the first time since fleeing their homes – without waiting for permanent sewerage infrastructure that may be years away. By acting now, we can save lives, especially among people already weakened by traumatic journeys and desperate poverty.

A closer look at the planned installations: