UN ESTIMATES 3.2M SUDANESE CHILDREN UNDER 5 WILL FACE ACUTE MALNUTRITION IN 2025

Sat 11 January 2025:

UNICEF issued a dire warning on Friday about the humanitarian crisis in conflict-torn Sudan, warning of “acute malnutrition” for young children, Anadolu Agency reports.

At a news conference, UN spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric, said that UNICEF estimated 3.2 million children under the age of 5 suffered “from acute malnutrition this year. Of these children, over 700,000 will likely suffer from severe acute malnutrition.”

Calling the situation in Sudan the “world’s largest child displacement crisis,” Dujarric said that 5 million children are “displaced because of the hostilities” and most “leave their families with only the clothes on their bodies.”

Dujarric also stated that Sudanese mothers sometimes walk for weeks to find shelter and food, stressing that families and communities are bearing the brunt of the violence.

He warned that barriers to accessing food and essential services would lead to further deaths.

Sudan has been ravaged by fighting between the country’s army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group since April 2023.

The fighting has resulted in more than 20,000 deaths and displaced over 14 million people, according to estimates from the UN and local authorities.

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The Sudanese war stems from a power struggle between two factions of the military: the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), led by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti.

Tensions escalated after the two groups, allies in a 2021 coup, fell out over how to transition Sudan to civilian rule.

The conflict, which began in April 2023, has devastated Sudan. Fighting has centered in the capital, Khartoum, and the Darfur region, causing widespread destruction and killing thousands. Millions have fled their homes, creating a humanitarian crisis with shortages of food, water, and medical supplies.

The war is fueled by ethnic tensions, political rivalries, and external meddling, with foreign powers backing different sides for strategic and economic gains. Peace talks have stalled, and civilians bear the brunt of the violence.

The conflict threatens to destabilize the region and worsen already dire conditions in one of the world’s poorest countries.

-with MEMO

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