Sudan’s protracted crisis: A drained nation and unprotected children

In Sudan, civilians have paid a heavy price for the civil war ongoing since mid-April 2023: more than 120,000 people have been killed and around 14 million displaced. The war has left over 24 million Sudanese in urgent need of humanitarian assistance, according to UN figures, with UN agencies stressing that children have borne the brunt of the conflict.

In the latest developments, the November 2025 update of the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) reported alarmingly high rates of Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM), ranging from 38% to 75% in El Fasher and reaching up to 29% in Kadugli.

At the same time, outbreaks of cholera, malaria, and measles continue to rise in areas where health, water, and sanitation systems have collapsed, increasing the risk of death among malnourished children, the IPC noted.

On this, Lucia Elmi, UNICEF’s Director of Emergency Operations, said: “The deadly combination of hunger, disease, and displacement is putting millions of children at risk. Girls often bear the greatest burden, facing heightened risks of malnutrition, gender-based violence, and being forced out of education. Therapeutic food, safe water, medicines, and basic health services can save lives—but only if we can reach children in time.”

She added: “We urgently need the parties to meet their obligations under international law and to provide safe, unimpeded, and timely access for humanitarian workers to reach children.”

According to the World Food Programme, UNICEF, and the FAO, priority is being given to the hardest-hit areas through integrated support covering food, nutrition, health, water and sanitation, protection, and animal and plant health. However, the same source said access “remains irregular, with humanitarian workers and supplies often targeted, while convoys face delays, denials, and security threats.”

A worrying situation in Sudan

Separately, UNICEF spokesperson Ricardo Pires said that children in Sudan are dying daily from preventable causes such as disease, lack of safe water, and the absence of access to health services—on top of continuing clashes. In a joint press conference with WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier at the UN Office in Geneva on 4 November 2025, he said Sudan faces “the world’s largest food crisis.” He added that estimates indicate more than 3.2 million children under five in Sudan suffer from acute malnutrition, while over 772,000 suffer from severe acute malnutrition and require urgent treatment to prevent death.

On the front lines of the fighting

Children’s suffering in Sudan is not limited to malnutrition, epidemics, and disease; they have also been pushed to the front lines of a war now heading into its third year.

In this context, the Sudanese National Observatory for Human Rights said that the security apparatus affiliated with the Port Sudan authorities has “turned a number of schools into recruitment and training camps, where children and youth are being drawn in by force or through dangerous deceptive and ideological methods.”

In a statement issued on 6 November 2025, it affirmed that “these practices constitute a war crime and a crime against humanity under international humanitarian law and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.”

It expressed “strong condemnation of the dangerous measures announced by River Nile State, namely closing schools, stopping classes, and declaring a state of general mobilization—steps that represent a flagrant violation of human rights and international law, especially those prohibiting the recruitment and use of children in armed conflict.”

The Observatory documented “the recruitment of children with disabilities, including children with Down syndrome, under what is being called a ‘general mobilization’ campaign in areas controlled by the Port Sudan–aligned Armed Forces.”

It voiced deep shock and outrage at the “horrific exploitation of childhood and violation of human dignity, and the dangerously cavalier disregard for moral and humanitarian values.” It continued: “Exploiting children with special needs in armed conflicts is a shameful crime and a blatant violation of the principles of international humanitarian law and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.”

It called on the international community and human rights and humanitarian organizations to “stop the general mobilization campaign and immediately investigate these violations, including the recruitment and use of children as a fighting force.”

Official acknowledgment

The Minister of Education in Port Sudan, Al-Tihami Al-Zain, acknowledged that the army has been recruiting children, by announcing that students who participate in military operations would be exempted from school fees.

Political activist Hisham Abbas said, “The appearance of child recruits within groups allied with the army in the recent Kordofan battles is a crime for which the leadership of the Sudanese army bears responsibility.” He added that this confirms “the failure of the military establishment to prevent the groups allied with it from arming and using children in the war.” He continued: “Instead of assuming its responsibilities, including preventing child recruitment, the army continues to form militias through which it commits actions that violate military, national, and humanitarian duties.”

Aid reaches the West

Despite the restrictions imposed on relief work in Sudan and after the army in Port Sudan expelled WFP officials, humanitarian convoys from International Humanitarian Aid organizations entered the city of El Fasher in North Darfur.

UN agencies delivered urgent humanitarian supplies that moved from Nyala in South Darfur to residents of El Fasher and to the displaced from El Fasher in the Tawila area of North Darfur.

Videos showed convoys from the World Food Programme and World Vision heading to El Fasher to assist civilians who have endured dire conditions amid the war, according to the Sudanese newspaper Al-Siha.

This came after the “Taasis Government,” having taken control of El Fasher, sounded the alarm over the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the city, called on international organizations to bring in aid, and pledged to secure humanitarian convoys until they reached El Fasher—something that was achieved on 1 November 2025.

Rapid response

El Fasher responded quickly to a phase of recovery, with life returning immediately after aid arrived, according to Sudanese media outlets and activists on social media.

Photos showed civilians walking around El Fasher—an unusual scene—while markets opened to shoppers and daily activity resumed without any recorded security incidents.

Field reports confirm that the city is currently experiencing “a state of calm and relative stability.” Civilian and humanitarian bodies are providing essential support and services to the remaining population, including healthcare, food, and basic services for affected families, the sick, and those in custody.