UNICEF-supported health volunteers screen children for malnutrition and provide vitamin A and deworming tablets during a UNICEF-supported door-to-door nutrition campaign in Aroma locality, Kassala state, Sudan.
Emergency Response

UNICEF Supplies Reaching Sudan as Food and Nutrition Crisis Deepens

UNICEF needs unimpeded and sustained humanitarian access, including across borders and conflict lines, to reach every child.

More than half of Sudan's population faces high levels of acute food insecurity

The conflict in Sudan is a children’s crisis: 13.6 million children urgently need humanitarian assistance; 10.8 million people, half of whom are children, have fled their homes in search of safety. Cut off from their livelihoods, facing continuous displacement, more than 24.6 million people across the country are now experiencing high levels of acute food insecurity. 

Famine conditions have spread to at least five locations in Sudan – Zamzam, Abu Shouk and Al Salam camps in North Darfur, and in host communities and camps for the internally displaced in the Western Nuba Mountains — as access to food and nutrition for millions of people continues to deteriorate.

On Jan. 13, 2025, mothers tend to their children suffering from severe acute malnutrition with medical complications at UNICEF-supported Port Sudan Pediatric Hospital in Sudan.
On Jan. 13, 2025, mothers tend to their children suffering from severe acute malnutrition with medical complications in the UNICEF-supported stabilization center at Port Sudan Pediatric Hospital in Sudan. © UNICEF/UNI718133/Elfatih

UNICEF is staying and delivering: a three-pronged approach

Despite challenges, UNICEF is staying and delivering through a three-pronged strategy: delivering critical supplies and services in conflict zones and hard-to-reach areas, providing urgent assistance to displaced and host communities in states receiving internally displaced persons and supporting the preservation of systems that deliver basic services across Sudan.

"In the past three months, UNICEF moved 60 trucks to Darfur to support over a quarter million children and families," said Fredrick Sheshe, UNICEF Sudan Chief of Supply and Logistics, reporting from Adré, near Chad's eastern border with Sudan, in late December. "With the continued dire situation in Sudan, UNICEF is scaling up the delivery of lifesaving supplies to the children and families in Darfur."

VIDEO: UNICEF trucks bring essential supplies to children and families caught in a catastrophe

UNICEF-supported health volunteers screen children and pregnant women for malnutrition 

In Kassala state, eastern Sudan, UNICEF-supported health volunteers go door-to-door screening children under 5 and pregnant women for malnutrition. The malnourished are referred immediately to the nearest health facility for treatment.

The volunteers also provide children with vitamin A and deworming tablets; pregnant women receive iron tablets as well as health education to ensure their children are healthy, especially during the first 1,000 days of life. Proper nutrition during this period is critical for a child’s optimal cognitive and emotional development. Any deficiencies can impact a child for life, causing irreversible damage. 

“Volunteers come to our homes to check on us and our children," said Nafisa, holding her son Abdulgader on her lap in Aroma locality, Kassala state. "My son was examined and given vitamins to maintain his health. I hope they will maintain these visits and come to us regularly to follow up on mothers and children.” 

On Dec. 2, 2024, Abdulgader is screened for malnutrition by health volunteers during a UNICEF-supported door-to-door nutrition campaign in Aroma locality, Kassala state, Sudan.
On Dec. 2, 2024, Abdulgader is screened for malnutrition by health volunteers during a UNICEF-supported door-to-door nutrition campaign in Aroma locality, Kassala state, eastern Sudan. © UNICEF/UNI707441/Rajab

Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food can restore a malnourished child to health in a matter of weeks

Health volunteers also visited Jamila's house in Aroma locality to screen her daughter Amna for malnutrition. "They said she is suffering from malnutrition and told me to come here to see the doctor," Jamila explained, seated inside the health center. "The doctor examined her and confirmed. They have given her this food in the packet and she is eating well. I hope she recovers soon."

UNICEF and partners rely on Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) to treat children suffering from severe acute malnutrition. The nutrient-rich peanut paste is easy for parents and caregivers to use; it's shelf-stable, can be eaten directly from the packet and stays fresh for up to two years. One carton of RUTF contains 150 packets, enough for one six- to eight-week course of treatment to restore the health of a severely malnourished child. 

UNICEF procures and distributes an estimated 75 to 80 percent of the world's supply of RUTF.

On Dec. 2, 2024, Jamila brings her daughter Amna to a UNICEF-supported health facility for treatment in Aroma locality, Kassala state, Sudan.
On Dec. 2, 2024, Jamila brought her daughter Amna to a UNICEF-supported health facility for treatment in Aroma locality, Kassala state, Sudan. © UNICEF/UNI707410/Rajab

Urgent action is needed to avert what could become the worst hunger crisis in recent history

As conflict and displacement continue, estimates indicate that five additional areas could be affected between now and May, with a risk of famine in 17 other locations. Immediate access and action are needed to avert what could become the worst hunger crisis in recent history.

"UNICEF estimates that 770,000 children under 5 will suffer from the deadliest form of malnutrition, severe acute malnutrition, in 2025," said UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa Edouard Beigbeder, who recently returned from Sudan. "I visited a stabilization center in Port Sudan where some of these children are being treated and witnessed firsthand how critical it is to reach them with timely, lifesaving care. We are doing everything we can to deliver aid to children and their families across Sudan."

 

TOP PHOTO: During a UNICEF-supported door-to-door nutrition campaign in Kassala state, Sudan, health volunteers screen children for malnutrition by measuring their mid-upper arm circumference. A reading in the red on a MUAC tape indicates a child is severely malnourished. © UNICEF/UNI707456/Rajab. Video edited by Tong Su for UNICEF USA.

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