After six weeks of conflict, the United Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has warned that more than 13.6 million children in Sudan are in urgent need of humanitarian aid, the highest number ever recorded in the country. UNICEF said on Tuesday that the impact of ongoing violence continues to threaten the lives and futures of families and children, leaving basic services cut off and many health facilities closed, damaged, or destroyed.
According to reports received by UNICEF, hundreds of boys and girls had been killed, and thousands more have been maimed. But those numbers are coming only from those families who had been able to reach health facilities, a spokesman for the organization stressed Tuesday.
The UN agency said the need for humanitarian assistance has never been more critical for children in Sudan, as the most vulnerable populations struggle to survive and be protected. Access to basic necessities is becoming increasingly difficult to secure. Prior to the conflict, nearly 9 million children were already in urgent need of humanitarian aid.
"As the conflict in Sudan rages on, the toll on children continues to grow more devastating by the day", said Adele Khodr, UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa.
"These children are not just numbers, they are individuals with families, dreams and aspirations. They are the future of Sudan, and we cannot stand by while their lives are torn apart by violence. The children of Sudan deserve a chance to survive and thrive. No efforts should be spared by all actors to protect the children and their rights."
A situation that was already dire for children before the conflict is now at catastrophic levels, with access to food, safe water, electricity, and telecommunications unreliable, inaccessible and unaffordable.
Since the start of the clashes, more than 1.5 million people have fled their homes, including 1.2 million who are internally displaced in Sudan and 367,000 who have crossed borders into neighboring countries. Half of the displaced are believed to be children.
UNICEF said without an immediate and extensive humanitarian response, the consequences of displacement, lack of basic social services, and protection will have devastating - and long-term - effects on children. Over 620,000 children are suffering from severe acute malnutrition, half of whom may die if not helped in time.
The UN agency has called on all parties to protect the children of Sudan and to protect the critical infrastructure on which they depended.
Meanwhile, the humanitarian community in Sudan continues to scale up deliveries. As of today, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) has now reached more than 782,000 men, women and children across the country, with food and nutrition support.
WFP has continued its distributions in Khartoum State, delivering emergency food to 15,000 people trapped in the Omdurman area. In a major breakthrough on Saturday, WFP began distributing food in the capital, Khartoum. So long as the security situation allows, the UN agency plans to reach at least 500,000 people who need food in Khartoum.
As of Monday, at least 100 trucks loaded with humanitarian assistance have reached their destinations in several states and including the capital. The trucks were carrying 2,600 tons of supplies, including nutrition, water, sanitation and health items for up to 2 million people.
WFP has urgently called on the warring parties to enable the safe delivery of urgently needed food aid, especially in Khartoum State where fighting had been raging for six weeks.
An estimated 2.5 million people in Sudan are expected to slip into hunger in the coming months because of the ongoing violence. This would take acute food insecurity in Sudan to record levels, with more than 19 million people affected, 40 percent of the population.
On Tuesday, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths, welcomed the extension of the ceasefire in Sudan. Also yesterday, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, concluded a three-day visit to Egypt with an urgent call for support for people fleeing Sudan, and support for the countries hosting refugees. Grandi called for the borders to remain open.
More than 170,000 people have entered Egypt since the start of the conflict, nearly half of the more than 367,000 people who have fled Sudan since the start of the hostilities.
The conflict between Sudan’s military headed up by General Abdel Fattah Burhan and the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces led by General Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo broke out on April 15 after months of rising tensions over the country's political future and the RSF's planned integration into the national army.
Humanitarian needs in Sudan were already at record levels before the situation deteriorated, with some 15.8 million people requiring humanitarian assistance. The number of people in need of humanitarian aid stands now at 24.7 million people – more than half of Sudan’s population.
Before the fighting started, Sudan hosted about 1.2 million refugees, one of the largest refugee populations in Africa, some 3.7 million Sudanese were internally displaced, mostly in the Darfur region that has experienced a volatile security situation since 2003. As of May 2023, there are some 4.9 million women, men, and children internally displaced.
More than 800,000 Sudanese had fled to neighboring countries before the clashes escalated. The number of Sudanese refugees is now estimated at more than 1.1 million people.
Further information
Full text: Sudan conflict leaves 13.6 million children in desperate need of humanitarian aid , UNICEF press release, May 30, 2023
https://www.unicef.org/mena/press-releases/sudan-conflict-leaves-13-million-children-desperate-need-of-humanitarian-aid