GENEVA: The United Nations warned on Wednesday that the number of Sudanese families experiencing hunger has nearly doubled following six months of intense fighting between rival generals in the country.
The conflict, pitting the Sudanese army led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces commanded by his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, has resulted in the death of thousands and forced millions to flee their homes. The dire situation has left more than half of the population in need of urgent humanitarian aid.
In a joint statement, the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF revealed that the number of hungry families has surged, with approximately 700,000 children suffering from severe acute malnutrition. An alarming 100,000 children require life-saving treatment for acute malnutrition with medical complications. The agencies highlighted that further disruptions to the health system caused by the conflict could lead to “unacceptably high” numbers of preventable deaths among children and vulnerable populations.
The WHO and UNICEF cited a projection by Johns Hopkins University, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, indicating that due to increased food insecurity and disruptions to essential services, at least 10,000 children under the age of five may die by the end of 2023.
Sudan Conflict Caused Huge Destruction
Since the conflict erupted on April 15, the situation in Sudan has escalated rapidly, leading to over 9,000 deaths, according to estimates by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data project. More than a million people have fled the country in search of refuge abroad, while an additional 4.5 million are now internally displaced persons (IDPs), having fled their homes but remained within Sudan. This has resulted in a staggering total of 7.1 million IDPs in Sudan, making it the country with the largest number of internally displaced people in the world.
The conflict has severely impacted the country’s healthcare system, with about 70 percent of hospitals in conflict-affected states rendered non-functional due to occupation, looting, or destruction. The WHO and UNICEF expressed deep concerns about the potential spread of diseases like cholera, measles, malaria, and dengue, exacerbated by the lack of resources and payment for health workers, as well as the ongoing attacks on critical infrastructure.
