New data from UNICEF released on Thursday highlights a pressing child hunger crisis in Sudan, with a reported 46 percent increase in the number of children treated for severe acute malnutrition (SAM) across the five Darfur states between January and May 2025 compared to the same timeframe last year.
UNICEF has issued an urgent call for unhindered humanitarian access to affected areas, especially in Darfur and the Kordofan regions. The organization is also urging the international community to bolster diplomatic efforts to establish a ceasefire and secure at least $200 million in additional emergency funding for essential nutrition and health services.
Sheldon Yett, UNICEF’s representative in Sudan, emphasized the critical nature of the situation by stating, “Children in Darfur are being starved by conflict and cut off from the very aid that could save them. This is a moment of truth. Children’s lives depend on whether the world chooses to act or look away.”
Currently, North Darfur is bearing the brunt of the crisis, with over 40,000 children admitted for treatment so far this year. This figure is double the number recorded in early 2024, a situation exacerbated by persistent violence and restricted aid access. Conditions in North Darfur are deteriorating rapidly, nearing famine levels, and the area witnesses consistent atrocities related to ongoing conflict.
The hunger crisis is not limited to Darfur alone, as other Sudanese regions experience a severe uptick in malnutrition. Alarming increases in SAM admissions are documented across North Kordofan (70 percent), Khartoum State (174 percent), and an extraordinary 683 percent in Al Jazirah, reflecting both improved health center access and a national surge in child malnutrition.
In North Darfur, the country’s protracted conflict has led to a siege on Al Fasher and damaged the Zamzam displacement camp. This situation has severed communities from much-needed humanitarian aid, with bombed hospitals and obstructed roads complicating relief efforts. Violence forced approximately 400,000 individuals from the Zamzam camp to take hazardous journeys to towns like Tawila, where over 500,000 displaced people now face critical shortages of shelter, potable water, and food.
Furthermore, at Al Fasher, supplies of ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF), essential for treating SAM, are depleted. The crisis is exacerbated by the closure of health facilities and outbreaks of diseases such as cholera and measles. Remaining healthcare facilities are under continual threats and attacks, raising concerns over potential new outbreaks of polio and other waterborne diseases.
The current situation in Sudan highlights the urgent need for coordinated international humanitarian and diplomatic interventions to alleviate the crisis effectively and provide relief to affected children and communities.
For more details, see the full report on JURIST – News.