Khartoum: The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has issued a grave warning over the dire conditions facing children in Sudan, as unrelenting conflict and mounting disease outbreaks continue to devastate lives across the country.
Children now represent half of the staggering 30 million people in need of humanitarian aid, and also make up 50 per cent of the 12 million individuals forced to flee their homes since the eruption of war in April 2023. OCHA highlights that unaccompanied or separated children are especially vulnerable to abuse, exploitation, and severe psychological trauma.
Despite the urgent need for protection services, a dramatic funding shortfall has left most children without critical support. To date, less than one in five children have received any form of assistance, with humanitarian agencies reporting that only 3 per cent of child protection programs have been funded — leaving an alarming US$88 million gap.
The escalating health crisis is compounding the crisis. Since cholera re-emerged in July 2024, the Sudanese Federal Ministry of Health has logged over 80,000 suspected cases and more than 2,000 deaths — including nearly 7,300 cases and 230 deaths among children under five. Khartoum state alone recorded some 15,000 suspected cases in the last month, though humanitarian partners caution that the real figures could be far higher due to widespread underreporting. Cholera cases have also been confirmed in South Darfur, River Nile, and other regions.
In response, the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF have launched a 10-day oral cholera vaccination campaign targeting 2.6 million people aged one and above in Khartoum, beginning on 10 June.
Sudan is simultaneously grappling with a measles outbreak, which has seen over 2,200 suspected cases and five deaths reported so far this year. Children under five account for over 60 per cent of those cases. Aid groups working on health and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) are doing what they can to contain the crises, but their efforts are hampered by limited data, insufficient medical supplies, vaccine shortages, and a lack of trained health workers.
Reiterating its plea, OCHA has called for immediate, unrestricted humanitarian access to affected populations, and urged for an end to the fighting so that vital support can reach Sudan’s most vulnerable — particularly its children — before the situation worsens even further.
