© UNICEF/Abdulazeem Mohamed。 These children, displaced by the conflict in Sudan, now live in Atbara.
UNICEF Representative in Sudan Mandeep O'Brien warned today that the war in Sudan is jeopardizing the future of the country's 24 million youngest citizens.
In an interview with UN News this week, O'Brien said Sudan was experiencing a humanitarian catastrophe of unprecedented proportions, a living nightmare for children.
Nearly 10 months into clashes between the Sudanese army and the rival group Rapid Support Forces (RSF), 14 million children are in desperate need of life-saving assistance.
Child displacement crisis
O'Brien noted that the war in Sudan has triggered the world's largest child displacement crisis. More than 3.5 million boys and girls, some of whom have been uprooted multiple times, have fled their homes for safer places.
The bad news continues: more than 7.4 million young Sudanese are at risk of waterborne diseases without access to safe drinking water, and nearly 2 million more are in dire need of life-saving vaccines.
Sudan also has one of the highest rates of child malnutrition in the world. More than 3 million children under the age of five are acutely malnourished, and 700,000 of them could die from the worst malnutrition if left untreated.
Classrooms are on the cusp
Sudan also has 19 million school-age children out of school, which could make Sudan one of the countries with the worst learning crisis in the world.
"Imagine what the future of this country would be like if children couldn't learn, and we estimate that Sudan would face $26 billion in lost lifetime income if this continues," O'Brien said. ”
O'Brien said education is a powerful tool for peacebuilding. When children learn in the classroom, they feel safe, protected, and they can live together peacefully.
"We shouldn't take these values for granted," she said. These values must be put into practice by children in their lives. ”
Open schools and pay teachers' salaries
UNICEF has been pushing for Sudan's federal and state governments to reopen schools, but O'Brien points to another obstacle to education – teachers not being able to get paid.
"To do that, teachers need to be paid," she said. Sadly, teachers and other frontline workers have not been paid since the outbreak of the war, and this issue must be addressed. ”
During this time, UNICEF and its partners have been exploring practical solutions and ways to support the safe reopening of schools when possible, while working to reach more young learners.
© UNICEF/Abdulazeem Mohamed
Children displaced by conflict learn digitally in a safe learning space in Port Sudan.
Expand your circle of learning
"For the large number of children who are unable to go to school, who were not enrolled or enrolled in school before the conflict, we are trying to get as many children as possible into the learning circle and let them learn in other ways," O'Brien said. ”
To meet the needs of these children, UNICEF and its partners have set up child-friendly spaces in IDP clusters.
These places are known as "makanna" (makanna in Arabic, meaning "our place"). These are places where children can feel safe and protected while also continuing their education through e-learning and tested, low-cost digital solutions.
More than 850 makanas have been built across Sudan, reaching more than 250,000 children and receiving psychosocial support to heal the trauma of war.
Vaccination campaigns
The conflict has also overwhelmed Sudan's health system. UNICEF, together with the World Health Organization and its partners, continued to work with Sudanese authorities to provide much-needed services during the outbreak and to carry out child immunization campaigns.
O'Brien said the measles outbreak is a cause for concern and is currently spreading in Sudan. They have vaccinated more than 1 million children in Sudan against measles.
This week marks the start of a campaign to combat measles and rubella launched with the support of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. The campaign aims to vaccinate more than 5 million children in Sudan's seven states by the end of the week and 15 million in the coming months.
The armistice promotes peace
As the conflict in Gaza rages and the conflict in Ukraine deepens, there are fears that the Sudanese crisis may be forgotten. However, O'Brien stressed that UNICEF is committed to staying on the ground and providing services with partners.
Last year, UNICEF provided much-needed hygiene supplies to more than 6.4 million children and their families, screened more than 5 million children under the age of five for malnutrition, and treated more than 300,000 severe cases.
To meet the growing needs of Sudanese children, women and their families, O'Brien is calling for more funding.
"Most importantly, we need to work to unite all international and regional forces to get Sudan to find the political solution needed to resolve this catastrophe," she said. This war must stop immediately, and the Sudan desperately needs peace. ”