New York, April 14 (SANA) – The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned Tuesday that hunger and disease are worsening and spreading rapidly among children in Sudan as the war enters its fourth year.
According to the UN News Center, UNICEF Communications Chief in Sudan Eva Hinds said that the situation for children is deteriorating by the hour, noting that 245 children were killed during the first three months of this year, most of them in Darfur and Kordofan, marking a sharp increase compared to the same period last year.
Hinds added that an estimated 4.2 million children across Sudan are expected to suffer from acute malnutrition, including 825,000 facing severe acute malnutrition, a life-threatening condition without urgent treatment.
She also noted that half of school buildings are no longer functioning, as many have been turned into shelters for displaced families or occupied by armed groups, depriving around 8 million children of access to education.
UNICEF said it requires $962.9 million this year to deliver life-saving assistance to 7.9 million children, but has so far received only 16 percent of the required funding.
The organization stressed that protecting children in Sudan requires respect for international humanitarian law, ensuring safe and sustained humanitarian access, and securing adequate funding, warning that children are paying the highest price.
Nearly 34 million people in Sudan—about two-thirds of the population—now require humanitarian assistance, making it one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises.
Kh.A
