The organization calls for “immediate measures” to stop the violence and increase aid delivery to avoid “an even worse catastrophe”
April 15 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) warned this Monday that millions of children “continue to be on a knife's edge” after a year of “horrible war” between the Sudanese Army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. (RSF), which has left nearly 8.9 million children food and water insecure, including 4.9 million at emergency levels.
“After 365 days of conflict, Sudan's children remain on the knife's edge of a horrific war. Without urgent concerted action and additional resources, the country risks a generational catastrophe that will have grave consequences for the country, the region and beyond,” said UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Ted Chaiban.
“If immediate action is not taken to stop the violence, facilitate humanitarian access and provide life-saving aid to those in need, an even worse catastrophe is likely to affect children for many years to come,” he warned. It is now estimated that almost four million children under five years of age will suffer from acute malnutrition this year, of which 730,000 will suffer from life-threatening severe acute malnutrition.
Added to this is that Sudan is suffering from one of the worst education crises in the world, with more than 90 percent of the country's 19 million school-age children without access to formal education, and that in recent months the risk has increased. of famine in the African country, with no signs for now that the parties in conflict are close to reaching a peace agreement.
“This brutal war and possible famine are creating a worrying environment for a catastrophic loss of children's lives,” said Chaiban, who stressed that “almost half of the children suffering from severe acute malnutrition are in hard-to-reach areas.” , where there is constant fighting, which makes their conditions even more terrible.
“All of this is avoidable, and we can save lives if all parties in the conflict allow us to access the communities that need it and fulfill our humanitarian mandate, without politicizing aid,” he stressed, given the numerous restrictions on the work of humanitarian agencies. and non-governmental organizations due to the fighting and obstacles imposed by the parties to the conflict.
In this sense, UNICEF has explained that vaccination coverage has decreased “considerably” due to the fighting and that hundreds of thousands of children lack access to drinking water, which has led to continuous outbreaks of diseases such as cholera, measles , malaria and dengue, which threaten the lives of hundreds of thousands of children.
“SUSTAINABLE” ACCESS TO VULNERABLE POPULATIONS
For this reason, the agency has called for “predictable and sustainable” access to vulnerable populations to prevent catastrophic hunger and famine and has reiterated that basic systems and social services in Sudan “are on the brink of collapse”, with workers frontline workers unpaid for a year, vital supplies depleted and infrastructure, including hospitals and schools, still under attack.
UNICEF has also highlighted that since the outbreak of war, reports of serious violations of children's rights have multiplied fivefold compared to the previous year, especially the recruitment and use of children by armed forces and groups, the murder, mutilation and sexual violence against minors.
Thus, 2023 saw the highest number of serious violations of children's rights verified in Sudan in more than a decade, although the organization has insisted that the real figures are likely to be much higher than those reported, given the difficulties to check for violations due to access issues.
Additionally, more than four million children have been forced to flee their homes since April 2023, including almost one million who have gone to neighboring countries. “The magnitude of the needs is so staggering that it is difficult to put it into perspective, but let us not forget that these are not just numbers,” said Chaiban. “These figures represent millions of children with names, stories, hopes and dreams,” she added.
“However, without a significant increase in vital services, the reopening of schools and, above all, an end to the war, these hopes and dreams will be lost for a generation and for the future of Sudan,” he warned. UNICEF has requested 240 million dollars (about 225.5 million euros) for the next six months in order to prevent famine in the 93 most vulnerable localities in Sudan, where 3.5 million children under five years of age live.
