Sudan: The deteriorating humanitarian situation casts a shadow over children

During the daily press conference in New York, today, Wednesday, Mr. Dujarik said that children constitute half of the 30 million people in need of humanitarian assistance in Sudan, and they also constitute half of the displaced people due to the conflict since April 2023, which number 12 million.

He added that the humanitarian workers on the ground warn that children are in urgent need of protection services, “But due to the severe shortage of financing, only less than 18% of this decisive support has been obtained until this moment this year.” He pointed out that financing child protection activities does not exceed 3%, with a gap estimated at 88 million dollars for the required amount.

He added: “Children separated from their families face increasing risks of abuse, exploitation and trauma.”

The risk of spreading diseases

Mr. Dujarric said that the spread of diseases greatly affected the children of Sudan. He pointed out that since the outbreak of cholera in the country last July, the Federal Ministry of Health has reported more than 80,000 suspected cases of injury, and more than two thousand deaths, including about 7,300 injuries and more than two hundred deaths among children under the age of five alone.

He added that there is a decrease in reporting new cases in the state of Khartoum, which last month witnessed 15,000 suspected cases of injury. However, he warned that lack of reporting “It may hide the true size of the disease outbreak,” Adding that cases were also confirmed in South Darfur, the Nile and other states.

The United Nations spokesman pointed to the launch of a oral vaccination campaign against cholera, in Khartoum State on June 10, and lasted for ten days, with the support of the World Health Organization and UNICEF, with the aim of reaching 2.6 million people at least one year of age, but reported that this is done “In the midst of a conflict intense in a civil war.”

Mr. Dujarric said that Sudan is also facing an outbreak of measles. Since the beginning of this year, more than 2,200 cases of suspected injury have been recorded, including five deaths. More than 60% of these cases were among children under the age of five. He added that the United Nations health partners respond to, “But as with the continuous response to cholera, gaps in data related to disease conditions, in addition to the severe shortage of vaccines, supplies and trained cadres hinder their efforts.”