The UN children’s agency said on Friday that 14 million children in Sudan are in “dire need” of humanitarian assistance as the country’s hunger crisis is being exacerbated by a deadly conflict there.
“The figures are astounding. According to Ted Chaiban, deputy executive director of UNICEF, “nearly 14 million children, or roughly every child in Colombia, France, Germany, or Thailand, are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.”
According to him, more than 1.7 million children in Sudan have been ejected from their homes and are now at risk of famine, disease, violence, and family division.
The 1.9 million children who were previously displaced in Sudan prior to this most recent crises are added to by this.
“Three million children under the age of five are underweight, and 700,000 of them are at serious danger for severe acute malnutrition and death. Chaiban continued, “1.7 million infants under the age of one are at risk of skipping important immunisations, increasing the likelihood of disease outbreaks.
According to UNICEF, at least 435 children have died and more than 2,025 have been injured in the Sudan violence since it started in the middle of April.
The UN issued a warning on Thursday that over 20 million people in Sudan are suffering from extreme hunger, a number that has nearly doubled since last year.