In war-torn Sudan, food insecurity and disruptions to essential services could cost the lives of more than 10,000 children under five by the end of the year, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Wednesday.

The agencies also warned that millions of children in the country are at risk of cholera, dengue, measles, malaria and other diseases “without sufficient containment capacities”.

After more than six months of conflict between the national army which answers to the military government in Khartoum and the rival Rapid Support Forces militia, Sudan’s health system is on its knees.

WHO and UNICEF said that health workers have gone without pay for months and more than two out of three hospitals in conflict-affected states are not functional.

Acute malnutrition 

Some 700,000 children in the country are suffering from severe acute malnutrition and 100,000 require life-saving treatment for acute malnutrition with medical complications. 

WHO and UNICEF said they have been working with partners to ensure primary healthcare, life-saving medical supplies and nourishment are accessible to the most vulnerable, while also supporting the health authorities’ response to a deadly cholera outbreak which started last month.

However, they warned that current resources can only help reach “a fraction” of those in need.

Source: UN News

https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/10/1142512