A Perfect Storm for Sudan's Children
After two years of war in Sudan with no end in sight, the number of children in need of humanitarian aid has doubled, from 7.8 million at the start of 2023 to more than 15 million today. In a worsening and increasingly complex humanitarian situation, UNICEF and partners are determined to stay and deliver.
As the brutal armed conflict in Sudan moves into its third year, the country is mired in the world’s largest humanitarian and child displacement polycrisis.
Life is a daily battle to survive for 30 million people in need of humanitarian assistance. Nearly 15 million people have been displaced inside Sudan and across borders; more than half of those displaced are children. Almost one in three are under the age of 5.
Famine is spreading, vaccination rates are dropping. Sexual violence against children is being used as a weapon of war. About 90 percent of children are out of school.
In areas where opportunities to return arise, unexploded ordnance and limited access to essential services put children’s lives at heightened risk.
The day the war began — April 15, 2023 — Fatuma, 13, was taking a test at her school in Khartoum. "In the middle of the exam, a teacher entered and asked us to put the papers away," Fatuma said. "She didn't tell us why. She told us to go straight home and not to look around or linger in the streets."
By the time she arrived home, her family was in a state of panic. As the sound of intense fighting grew nearer, the family fled in search of safety. Since then, they have moved six times. Home for now is a camp for the internally displaced in Kassala.
Video: 13-year-old Fatuma's story
UNICEF delivers for children in Sudan
UNICEF has been on the ground in Sudan since the 1950s, working to improve critical services and provide support and protection for vulnerable children. In 2024, UNICEF and partners provided psychosocial counseling, education and protection services to 2.7 million children and caregivers, reached over 9.8 million children and families with safe drinking water, screened 6.7 million children for malnutrition and provided lifesaving treatment for 422,000 of them.
UNICEF continues to prioritize lifesaving interventions in conflict zones and also supports displaced populations and host communities in safer areas, providing essential services and support.
Humanitarian access remains a challenge
But access by humanitarian actors to children is deteriorating due to the intensity of the conflict and to restrictions or bureaucratic impediments imposed by government authorities or other armed groups.
In 2024, over 60 percent of UNICEF’s aid deliveries were delayed amid a highly volatile security environment. Although no missions were cancelled or aborted, these repeated delays disrupted the timely delivery of assistance and hindered access to children in urgent need.
Last week, dozens of civilians, including at least 23 children, and several aid workers were reportedly killed in attacks in Al Fasher and Abu Shouk and Zamzam IDP camps. Over the past three months, more than 140 children have been killed or maimed in Al Fasher alone, underscoring the relentless toll of the ongoing war on children in Sudan and the extreme conditions facing humanitarian workers.
Video: The world cannot forget Sudan
"Two years of violence and displacement have shattered the lives of millions of children across Sudan," said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. "Needs continue to outpace humanitarian funding. With the rainy season around the corner, children who are already reeling from malnutrition and disease will be harder to reach. I urge the international community to seize this pivotal window for action and step up for Sudan’s children.”
"We have the expertise and the resolve to scale up our support, but we need access and sustained funding," Russell continued. "Most of all, children in Sudan need this horrific conflict to end.”
Right now, the lives of the most vulnerable children hang in the balance as conflicts and crises jeopardize the care and protection that they deserve. Dependable, uninterrupted and effective foreign aid is critical to the well-being of millions of children. Please contact your members of Congress and urge them to support ongoing U.S. investments in foreign assistance.
HOW TO HELP
There are many ways to make a difference
War, famine, poverty, natural disasters — threats to the world's children keep coming. But UNICEF won't stop working to keep children healthy and safe.
UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories — more places than any other children's organization. UNICEF has the world's largest humanitarian warehouse and, when disaster strikes, can get supplies almost anywhere within 72 hours. Constantly innovating, always advocating for a better world for children, UNICEF works to ensure that every child can grow up healthy, educated, protected and respected.
Would you like to help give all children the opportunity to reach their full potential? There are many ways to get involved.
