Sudan: An Unprecedented Humanitarian Crisis Threatens Millions of Children

The war in Sudan has plunged millions of people into an alarming humanitarian crisis, endangering the lives and future of 16 million children.

According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the war in Sudan has exposed over 12 million people to pervasive violence, particularly sexual harassment, used to terrify the entire population. As the executive director of UNICEF highlights, these statistics show and 80% increase from the previous year.

The ongoing violence has also caused extensive damage to infrastructure, leading to water shortages, lack of access to healthcare facilities including lack of access to mental healthcare and psychosocial support, loss of livelihoods, food insecurity, blackouts, communication and supply chain disruptions, and widespread incidents of looting.

Evidence shows that the near collapse in the economic and social conditions and infrastructures of Sudan, along with continuous conflict, have affected approximately two thirds of the country’s population, exposing over 30 million people to an urgent need for humanitarian assistance. Among this population, there are almost 16 million children, who are paying the price for a war they had no role in starting or perpetuating.

Meanwhile, famine is spreading at a more escalating rate, adversely affecting a large population, including children, millions of whom were forced to flee their homes and are displaced in the country and across the borders, bearing the biggest brunt. As emphasized by the UNICEF reports, over 3 million children under five are at imminent risk of deadly disease outbreaks, including cholera, malaria, and dengue, due to a failing health system.

As famine and grave violations continue to rise, the situation is becoming more perilous for all, especially children. The reports have documented more than 900 incidents of grave violations against children between June and December 2024, with a surprising 80% involving in killing and wounding children, mainly in Darfur, Khartoum, and Al Jazirah States. The executive director of UNICEF emphasizes that these statistics are unfortunately only a fraction of the reality, while uncontrolled violence, used to humiliate, dominate, disperse, forcibly relocate, and terrify an entire population, is deepening Sudan’s crisis.

In addition, the hunger gap across the country is growingly widening, as the rainy season looms large, demanding a shift away from the failed approaches of the past. Sudan risks becoming the world’s largest hunger crisis in recent history as conflict continues to rage across the country, destroying livelihoods, infrastructure, trade routes and supply chains and threatening the lives of hundreds of thousands.

Around half the country’s population, making up a total of 24.6 million people are acutely food insecure, while 638,000 face catastrophic levels of hunger, revealing the highest anywhere in the world. Unfortunately, the areas in famine and those at risk of famine areas are concentrated in places where fighting is worst, which makes access dangerous and unpredictable for humanitarian aid. Certainly, overcoming the current critical situation requires comprehensive cooperation from all organizations and governments around the world.

References
https://www.africanews.com/2025/03/14/sudans-crisis-deepens-as-violence-and-famine-threaten-millions//
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/3/13/unicef-director-warns-12m-at-risk-of-sexual-violence-in-sudan
https://crisisresponse.iom.int/response/sudan-crisis-response-plan-2024-2025/year/2024
https://www.unicef.org/sudan/sudan-crisis-childrens-crisis-0
https://www.wfp.org/emergencies/sudan-emergency