Children in Sudan Subjected to Violence and Hunger

As the conflict rages on in Sudan, it is the innocent children of the nation who find themselves most vulnerable and at risk. With escalating violence and instability, the situation for Sudanese children has reached a critical point, marked by staggering statistics from UNICEF.

The ongoing conflict in Sudan which has been marked by the conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) that began on April 15th, over 4.1 million people, including approximately 2 million children have been forced to flee their homes due to violence and conflict.

According to UNICEF, since the start of the conflict, there have been over 3000 deaths and 6000 injuries. Of those, over 330 children have been killed and 1900 injured.

Reports of conflict-related sexual violence, including rape, have been rampant and with fighting only intensifying in recent weeks in places like Khartoum, Darfur and Kordofans, the very real worry is that child rights violations will continue to spike. Girls are particularly more vulnerable to gender-based violence. The armed groups have reportedly recruited children as soldiers, robbing them of their innocence and exposing them to violence and trauma.

The World Food Program (WFP) reported that nearly 1.1 million children under the age of five are acutely malnourished. Among them, over 300,000 children are suffering from severe acute malnutrition, a condition that requires urgent medical attention  and proper nutrition to survive. Access to healthcare has been severely limited, with many health facilities damaged or inaccessible due to the conflict leaving children in need of medical attention at risk.

The child mortality rates are increasing with many children dying.

More than 3.4 million children are out of school, their education disrupted and stopped due to the conflict as reported by Save The Children.

Urgent action and support to address the needs of the Sudanese children  is needed. Efforts must be made to protect the children from recruitment into armed groups and to protect them from GBV among others.

Every child’s life matter, Every child should be able to live in a secure environment with access to healthy food, medical care and a warm house.

Written by Esdaisy Njoroge