Attachments
HIGHLIGHTS
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200 days into the brutal war, Sudan remains the largest child displacement crisis in the world, with a recorded 3 million children fleeing violence.
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Reports of sexual violence have been rampant, with fighting intensifying in Khartoum, Darfur, and Kordofans. UNICEF has received allegations of over 3,100 severe child rights violations, including killing and maiming.
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19 million children are unable to return to classrooms, making Sudan one of the worst education crises in the world. Deadly diseases are on the rise and 7.4 million children lack safe drinking water, exacerbating the threat of cholera.
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Despite challenges, UNICEF and partners have reached 5.9 million people with health supplies, 4.2 million people with safe drinking water, 3.9 million children with malnutrition screening – of whom 233,900 received life-saving treatment, 645,500 people with psychosocial counselling, learning, and protection support through 751 safe spaces, and 300,000 people with cash, information and services to preserve their health and resilience.
SITUATION OVERVIEW AND HUMANITARIAN NEEDS
More than six months into the armed conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) across Sudan, the fighting intensified especially in Darfur. In West and South Kordofan, fighting between SAF and the Sudanese People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) persisted. Since the beginning of conflict in April 2023, the number of displaced people has increased to 6.1 million, of whom over 3 million are children, with over 674,000 being displaced within the reporting period alone. Millions of people, particularly in Khartoum, Darfur and Kordofan, lack access to basic services such as food, water, shelter, health, nutrition and education.
Since 15 April, 58 attacks on the health care system have been verified resulting in 31 deaths and 38 injuries – with an average of 10 attacks per a month. According to the Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH), outbreaks of cholera and dengue fever (in Gedarif, Gezira and Khartoum), and measles continue. As of 31 October, there have been more than 2,200 cases of acute watery diarrhea (AWD) and 77 associated deaths. Meanwhile, the cumulative number of suspected measles cases has reached over 1,100 with active cases in Blue Nile, Gezira, Sennar and White Nile. All these factors are jeopardizing an already exhausted health system, making any further disruptions of the health care services across the country cost at least 10,000 young lives by the end of 2023.
The insecurity and administrative impediments faced by aid organizations continue to make access to people in need challenging and unpredictable. A total of 131 incidents impacting humanitarian operations were reported in August and September. The highest number of incidents continued to be recorded in Khartoum (31 per cent), where 41 incidents were reported across six localities. Active hostilities represent 69 per cent of incidents, followed by violence against humanitarian personnel and assets (15 per cent) and operational interference against humanitarian partners (11 per cent).
UNICEF is staying and delivering for the children of Sudan, through a three-pronged humanitarian, development, and peace nexus strategy: maintain critical and lifesaving services in hotspot areas, provide urgent assistance to newly displaced and host communities, ensure basic service delivery continues in non-conflict areas.