At least 700,000 children are at risk of starvation in Sudan

At least 700,000 children are at risk of starvation in Sudan

UNICEF says at least 700,000 children are at risk of death in Sudan due to ongoing armed conflict and malnutrition .

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) on Friday reported the plight of children in Sudan due to ongoing conflict and severe malnutrition. This was announced by James Elder, representative of Yu NISEF, at a press conference held in Geneva.

Elder Elaborating on the limited humanitarian aid, UNICEF said it was only able to help about 300,000 children at risk, which is less than half of Sudan's total number of children at risk of death.

According to Elder , the "severe levels of malnutrition" these children face are a serious problem, greatly increasing deaths from cholera, malaria and other diseases. Therefore, Elder stressed the need for urgent intervention.

A day ago, Yu NISEF launched a campaign to raise $840 million to meet the immediate needs of more than 7.5 million children in Sudan for one year. Elder is disappointed that previous campaigns have not received enough funds, noting that "last year, Yu NISEF did not receive the funds it requested for almost three-quarters of the children in Sudan."

In addition to malnutrition, Elder expressed concern that atrocities against children, including murder, sexual abuse and recruitment as soldiers, have "increased by 500 percent" over the past year. He noted that these numbers are probably the "tip of the iceberg" and the true scale of the crisis could be much more serious.

The ongoing conflict, which began in April 2023, has left nearly half of Sudan's population, some 25 million people, in need of humanitarian assistance and protection. About 1.5 million people were forced to flee to neighboring countries.

On Wednesday , the UN appealed for $4.1 billion to provide much-needed humanitarian aid to victims inside and outside Sudan.