Over 7 million children have been displaced due to the ongoing war in Sudan since April 15, 2023, according to new data published by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) on Wednesday.
The organization reported that children account for 52 percent of the nearly 14 million Sudanese displaced within the country or who have crossed borders into neighboring nations since the conflict began in mid-April 2023, making Sudan the country with the largest child displacement crisis in the world.
A recent report by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR) warned that the conflict in Sudan is endangering an entire generation, with 24 million children at risk of losing their rights to life, protection, education, health, and development.
The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has called for an immediate end to serious violations against children, including halting their recruitment into combat. The committee highlighted the thousands of child deaths since the conflict erupted and raised concerns about reports of children being subjected to rape, deprivation of basic necessities, and other violations of international law, including children’s economic and social rights.
The committee noted a sharp increase in the number of children killed or subjected to sexual violence as a weapon of war. Children are particularly at risk due to widespread recruitment into armed groups in various regions of Sudan. According to Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders), hundreds of children are dying from preventable diseases due to unmet healthcare needs.
The war has forced 10.9 million Sudanese into internal displacement across 183 areas in all 18 of Sudan’s states, while 3.1 million have fled to other countries, according to IOM. Fourteen million children are in desperate need of humanitarian aid, with 3.7 million suffering from severe malnutrition. Additionally, 19 million children remain out of school.
A survey conducted by Médecins Sans Frontières revealed that 32 percent of children are suffering from malnutrition, a rate far exceeding global emergency levels.
