Catastrophic Consequences… Millions of Sudanese Children Pay the Price of War. What’s the Story?

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As the crisis in Sudan worsens with escalating conflict between Sudanese Armed Forces, led by Al-Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces, commanded by Hemedti, the lives, education, and future of a generation of Sudanese children are now at risk. Children are particularly vulnerable in a country reduced to “ruins.”

• The African Union: The crisis in Sudan threatens the existence of the country and the entire region

• UN Reports Reflect Shock at the Scale of Sudan’s Worsening Humanitarian Crisis

The ongoing conflict has fueled a deadly mix of displacement, disease, and hunger. It is estimated that around 4 million children under five will suffer from acute malnutrition this year, including 730,000 who are expected to experience life-threatening severe acute malnutrition. Sudan now faces one of the worst education crises in the world, with over 90% of the 19 million school-aged children unable to access formal education.

Seven Million Children Forced to Flee

More than 7 million Sudanese children, forced to flee with their families due to the war, face significant educational, health, and psychological risks, according to experts and a report by “Save the Children.”

• Strengthening Humanitarian Access and Respect for Law: International Pressures to Resolve Sudan’s Crisis

• After 500 Days of War… A Major Health and Food Crisis Facing Sudan

In addition to an estimated 1.5 million children who fled with their families to other countries, data released by “Save the Children” on Wednesday revealed that among the 11 million internally displaced, approximately 5.8 million are children under 18, including 2.8 million under five.

The organization estimates that nearly 2 million children were born during the 18 months following the outbreak of war, an average of about 4,000 births per day.

• One Year of Sudanese War: Displacement, Fighting, Diseases, and Deepening Humanitarian Crisis

• Pressure from “Kizan” on the Army Leadership to Abstain from Participating in Any Mediation to Resolve the Sudan Crisis

Shocking Numbers

According to data from the International Organization for Migration’s Displacement Tracking Matrix, violence escalation in Sudan’s southeastern Sennar State over the past two months has displaced more than 350,000 children, some of whom have lost complete contact with their families.

Save the Children reported that many families have been forced to flee multiple times, after initially leaving Khartoum and Gezira States at the beginning of the conflict.

• Struggle between America and Iran in Sudan Raises Fears of Complicating the Forgotten Crisis

• The crisis worsens in Sudan… 8 Months of fighting between the Army and Rapid Support Forces, What’s next?

Save the Children’s child protection teams in Blue Nile and Gedaref states documented at least 451 children between June 29 and August 14 who were forced to take a dangerous journey to safety without their parents, marking the highest number recorded in such a short period since the conflict began in April 2023.

According to the organization, millions of children of preschool age have been displaced across Sudan, constituting the world’s largest child displacement crisis.

• From Cairo to New York: Intensive Political Moves to Resolve the Sudanese Crisis

• The Sudan crisis: Battles threaten “World’s Food Basket,” 19 million students out of school

As the war drags on, displacements increase, and most educational and healthcare institutions remain closed, millions of children in Sudan face the risk of missing out on educational opportunities and being deprived of early childhood essentials, including vaccinations, clean water, healthcare, nutritious food, and shelter from extreme heat and cold.

Nearly half of these children now live in host communities, while the other half live in desperate conditions: 18% in displacement camps, 16% in informal camps or outdoors, and 9% in crowded schools or other public buildings. Many share their space with unknown adults and have limited or no access to water and sanitation facilities.

• Sudan Crisis: Fire of Clashes Surrounds Military and Strategic Areas 

• The Economic Situation Collapses in Sudan… War Plunges Khartoum into Major Crises Khartoum has entered a major crisis 

Sudanese human rights and humanitarian activist Mayson Abdelsalam highlights that children are trapped by diseases, the flames of war, and displacement, with more than 5 million suffering from untreated illnesses due to a lack of doctors, in addition to threats like polio and malaria. She stresses the urgent need for action to confront the dangers faced by millions of children, noting that the war has significantly altered children’s behaviors and perspectives, casting disastrous consequences on their future.

Abdelsalam added that Sudan has become the largest child displacement crisis in the world today, with more than 4 million children forced to leave their homes since April 2023, including approximately one million who have crossed into neighboring countries such as Chad, Egypt, and South Sudan.

• How does the fighting in Sudan contribute to the exacerbation of the global displacement crisis?

• The Sudanese crisis continues.. What are the proposed solutions in the current period?