Sudan facing 'world's biggest humanitarian crisis' as UN urges action on 'neglected' conflict
Fifteen months of fighting in Susan has created the worst humanitarian catastrophe in the world according to UNICEF, our reporter Sam Holder explains
Sudan is facing the biggest humanitarian crisis in the world, the UN has said, in a conflict that has been little noticed in Western nations.
Aid organisations have been warning for months of a catastrophic crisis enveloping the war-torn country and are calling for an immediate ceasefire.
UNICEF spokesperson James Elder warned said on Wednesday that "tens of thousands of Sudanese children may die over the coming months" as he set out the scale of the disaster.
Five million children have been forced to flee their homes – an average of 10,000 girls displaced every day, he said.
“Sudan’s humanitarian crisis for children is, by numbers, the biggest in the world. It is also a crisis of neglect. So many of the countless atrocities upon children in Sudan have gone unreported, often as a result of very limited access," Mr Elder said.
According to UNICEF, over the weekend two boys playing football were killed and others injured when a shell struck a children's game.
Sudan descended into conflict in April 2023, when tensions between the country's military and the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group broke into open fighting.
More than 14,000 people have been killed since the war began, according to the United Nations.
Overall, 25.6 million people, more than half of the country’s 47 million population, face “crisis or worse conditions” between June and September.
Devastating floods in recent weeks have compounded the tragedy.
Dozens of people have been killed and critical infrastructure has been washed away in 11 of Sudan’s 18 provinces, according to local authorities.
Mr Elder said there was a huge amount of sexual violence taking place in the war, with reports of women and girls, some as young as eight, being raped.
Many were held captive for weeks on end, he said. He added that a "distressing number of babies, born after rape" were being abandoned.
He said: "Five million children have been forced to flee their homes – a staggering average of 10,000 girls and boys displaced every single day – making Sudan the world's largest child displacement crisis. Many of those have had to do so multiple times."
"Without action, tens of thousands of Sudanese children may die over the coming months. Tens of thousands. And that is by no means a worst-case scenario," he continued.
"Any disease outbreak will see mortality skyrocket. Disease is our great fear. If there is a measles outbreak, or diarrhoea or respiratory infections – remembering that in the current living conditions, and with heavy rains and flooding, these diseases spread like wildfire- the terrifying outlook for children in Sudan dramatically worsens," Elder said.
UNICEF warned that famine was now setting the enormous Zamzam refugee camp, creating a food crisis, with famine-like conditions setting in all over the country.
Subscribe free to our weekly newsletter for exclusive and original coverage from ITV News. Direct to your inbox every Friday morning.
Mr Alder said: "Without action, tens of thousands of Sudanese children may die over the coming months. Tens of thousands. And that is by no means a worst-case scenario. Any disease outbreak will see mortality skyrocket. Disease is our great fear.
"If there is a measles outbreak, or diarrhoea or respiratory infections – remembering that in the current living conditions, and with heavy rains and flooding, these diseases spread like wildfire- the terrifying outlook for children in Sudan dramatically worsens."
UNICEF called for safe access to humanitarian aid, for all sides of the conflict to respect human rights law, a scale-up in donor funding and a ceasefire.
Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know...