Unicef appeals for $110 million for children in Sudan

The Sudan office of the United Nations International Children's Fund (Unicef), on Wednesday launched an appeal to raise $110 million to meet humanitarian needs for children in Sudan.

The appeal is part of a Unicef annual global Humanitarian Action for Children, which aims at mobilising resources and drawing attention to the plight of children worldwide, Abdullah Fadil, Unicef representative to Sudan said in a statement Wednesday.

Unicef in Sudan is planning to reach over two million children this year across the country, he added.

About 13% of African children who suffer from severe acute malnutrition are in Sudan, the statement said.

Unicef figures show that two million children under the age of five are acutely malnourished, 550,000 of them severely malnourished.

Conflict

Conflict-related displacements, El Nino, epidemics, floods and droughts exacerbated the nutrition and food security situation of Sudanese children, the statement said.

“The ongoing violence in Darfur, the Kordofans, Blue Nile and Abyei has forced more than 3.2 million people to flee their homes. Among these are 1.9 million children, many of whom have been separated from their families and affected by grave violations,” the statement continues.

Refugees

“As a result of renewed conflict and high levels of food insecurity in South Sudan, an increasing number of refugees are seeking protection in Sudan, which has stretched already limited host community capacities. The Sudan currently hosts 250,000 South Sudanese refugees, with more than 100,000 new arrivals in 2016 (70 per cent of these are children).

Displacements often leave children with limited access to basic services, while exposing them to violence, exploitation, sexual violence, malnutrition and diseases. Earlier statistics by Sudan's Health Ministry indicated that malnutrition surpasses eight known causes of children's deaths including malaria, blood poisoning, pneumonia, dehydration, gastroenteritis, anaemia and heart disease.

Sudan's government is working with its partners to implement national priority programs addressing malnutrition and reducing children's mortality rates.