Geneva, February 11 (Darfur24)
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has warned that children in Sudan are living through what it described as the world’s largest humanitarian disaster, with conditions deteriorating rapidly, particularly in the Darfur region.
UNICEF spokesperson Ricardo Perez said more than half of children in parts of North Darfur are suffering from acute malnutrition, stressing that the crisis is no longer hypothetical. “This is not a prediction or a theoretical model; it is a confirmed reality on the ground,” he said.
Speaking during the bi-weekly UN agencies press briefing in Geneva, Perez cited newly released Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) data covering Ambro, Karnoi, and Al-Tineh. The findings reveal what he described as catastrophic malnutrition rates among young children.
Perez warned that hunger disproportionately affects children, who are the most vulnerable, particularly those between six months and five years old. “Time is running out for them,” he said.
Treatable diseases becoming deadly
UNICEF said the crisis extends beyond hunger. Nearly half of the children in Al-Tineh have reportedly fallen ill over the past two weeks.
Perez explained that fever, diarrhea, and respiratory infections, combined with low vaccination coverage, unsafe water, and a collapsing healthcare system, are turning treatable illnesses into life-threatening conditions for already malnourished children.
“The world must stop turning a blind eye to the children of Sudan,” he said, adding that more than half of the children in Umm Buru are visibly wasting away.
According to UNICEF estimates, 33.7 million people in Sudan require humanitarian assistance, roughly half of them children. The agency projects that about 825,000 children could suffer severe malnutrition this year, while around 70% of health facilities are no longer functioning.
Health system under severe strain
Dr. Shibl Sahbani, the World Health Organization’s representative in Sudan, said newly displaced and returning populations urgently need healthcare services that the country’s overwhelmed health system cannot adequately deliver.
He noted that repeated attacks have severely damaged health infrastructure, destroying equipment and supplies while contributing to a critical shortage of medical personnel and operational funding. Such attacks, he said, deprive communities of healthcare for years, discourage patients and staff, and complicate efforts to deliver life-saving treatment.
Sudan is also facing outbreaks of multiple diseases, including cholera, malaria, dengue fever, and measles, compounded by widespread malnutrition.
UN alarm over foreign involvement
Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, expressed concern over the involvement of multiple countries in Sudan’s conflict. She cited direct and indirect participation, including the presence of mercenaries, arms transfers, intelligence support, financial backing, and links to the conflict’s political economy.
The High Commissioner renewed calls for influential countries to use their leverage to help bring an end to the war in Sudan.