Conflicts in Sudan have affected children the most who face extreme malnutrition, especially in the aftermath of a military coup in October 2021.
A freeze on the international funding for aid operations in the country post the military coup had only aggravated the situation. The UN relief teams have been forced to cut rations in half, in some cases.
The situation of the most vulnerable children is so desperate that UN agencies warn that half of the most severely malnourished youngsters are expected to die in absence of the urgent global humanitarian intervention.
According to UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Representative in Sudan, Mandeep O Brien, a total of 650,000 kids in the country are suffering from severe acute malnutrition.
The intertribal conflicts and violence have increased which has spread out of Darfur to other parts of the country. The Ukraine war has also only added to the problem. These factors combined together have caused an unprecedented humanitarian crisis of severe magnitude in a politically unstable country.
The ongoing political turmoil has eroded the state support structures for struggling families. These families have to not only withstand the impact of food price hikes but also the situation is worsened by intertribal violence.
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In addition to the internal conflicts, other factors which have made the situation worse are the ripple effects of the war in Ukraine, lingering impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, and extreme weather resulting from the climate crisis.
The other aspect which is equally worrisome is an increasing number of refugees and internally displaced persons who have been the victims of internal conflicts.
The fresh inter-communal clashes have been reported across the Darfur states, Kordofan, and the Blue Nile States this year and led to the burning and looting of villages, markets, houses, and livestock. Over 177,000 people were internally displaced in Sudan this year due to internal disturbances. Moreover, according to UNHCR, there are 1.1 million refugees in Sudan.
There are around 3.7 million internally displaced people in Sudan. The marginalized communities including refugees and internally displaced people face an imminent food crisis.
To make the matter worse by September 13, UNHCR received just one-third of the $348.9 million needed this year for humanitarian needs for providing life-saving assistance and protection through effective response.
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