The United Nations has painted an extremely grim picture of the humanitarian situation in Sudan, with children’s plight being particularly severe. Amidst a severe funding shortfall for its humanitarian aid fund, the international organization has reported that every hour, one child is killed or injured since the onset of fighting in Sudan.
Ted Chaiban, the Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), stated emphatically that “the situation faced by children in Sudan today is unprecedented. Even before the outbreak of war on April 15th, Sudan was suffering from a humanitarian crisis… and now, nearly 110 days since the war broke out, the crisis in Sudan has turned into a disaster, threatening the lives and future of a generation of children and young people, who make up more than 70% of the population.”
Chaiban’s remarks came during a press conference held at the UN headquarters, following his return from a visit to Sudan to assess the on-ground situation, along with several UN officials.
“There are nearly 14 million children in Sudan in desperate need of humanitarian support. That’s roughly one in every two children in Sudan, facing unimaginable challenges to their safety and health every day,” Chaiban added.
Since the outbreak of the latest war about four months ago, over 1.7 million children have been forced to flee their homes or have been displaced. This is in addition to the 1.9 million children who were displaced even before this latest crisis, according to UNICEF. The UN official further elaborated, “Many of these children are now moving within Sudan or crossing its borders, at risk of hunger, disease, violence, and separation from their families.”
Focusing on the number of child casualties since the recent events, Chaiban stated, “No less than 435 children have been killed in the conflict, and at least another 2025 have been injured.” If these figures are extrapolated to the rate since the outbreak of the latest war, it means “one child is killed or injured every hour, and the actual figures are likely to be much higher.”
Chaiban expressed deep concern about the potential repetition of scenarios similar to what happened in Darfur, where crimes were committed against women and children 18 years ago.
With a bleak future looming for the children of Sudan, the urgency of international support becomes even more apparent. The escalating humanitarian crisis underscores the importance of immediate, substantial aid to alleviate the suffering of the Sudanese people, especially the children, who bear the brunt of this devastating situation.
