More than 10 million children exposed to a year of Sudan conflict
One in two children in Sudan are currently or have been within five kilometres of the frontline of the conflict within the last year, this is according to a report by the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED) on behalf of Save the Children.
”Over 10 million children have been exposed to battles, bombings, Improvised Explosive Device (IED) attacks, mortar and missile attacks, and direct attacks on civilians,” the report says.
According to the report, this is a 60 percent increase from the 6.6 million children exposed to violence in the first month of the fighting. It also shows how the conflict has continued to increase in scale and scope across the country.
At least 230,000 children and new mothers are likely to die from hunger without action, the report warned.
”The situation has reached boiling point. Millions more children do not have access to adequate food, 3.8 million are malnourished and thousands of others risk death from disease as the country’s health system has all but collapsed. Not a single child has been able to go to school over the past year. No child should have to go through what those in Sudan have been experiencing”, Dr Arif Noor, Country Director for Save the Children in Sudan said.
Jouman, 16, (not her real name) can only reminisce about the good times she had in Sudan before she fled Sudan with her family and now lives in Cairo, Egypt.
“The fighting was really tough. We never imagined that we would flee Sudan. I had good days in Sudan. I used to go to school, then back home and spend time with the family and when with my friend, we have fun and study,” she said.
With 25 million of Sudan’s 49 million population in need, it has become the world’s largest internal displacement crisis.