WeeklySA_AdminTRAUMA: Nearly 770 000 children in Sudan are expected to suffer from the deadliest form of malnutrition
By Monk Nkomo
Nearly 500 million children in war zones including the State of Palestine and Sudan, faced a daily struggle for survival where malnutrition had risen to alarming levels, education had been severely disrupted, houses destroyed, families torn apart and women and girls raped and exposed to sexual violence.
This is according to a shocking review by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) latest available data and prevailing trends which revealed that the impact of armed conflicts on children around the world had reached devastating levels in 2024.
By the end of 2023, a total 47,2 million children had been displaced due to conflict and violence with trends last year indicating additional displacement due to the intensification of conflicts in several countries including Haiti, Lebanon, Myanmar, the State of Palestine and Sudan.
In the latest available data, from 2023, the United Nations verified a record 32,990 grave violations against 22, 557 children – the highest number since the Security Council – mandated monitoring began.
The suffering of children had also reached alarming levels in Sudan in Africa where an estimated 770 000 children under the age of five, are expected to suffer from the deadliest form of malnutrition this year due to the war in the area. UNICEF’s Director for the Middle East and North Africa, Edouard Beigbeder, also said in a statement that a total 600 incidents of grave violations against children had been reported last year.
A staggering 80 percent of these incidents were accounts of killing and maiming , primarily in Darfur, Kordofan and Khartoum. Hunger and disease outbreaks also stalked the most vulnerable children in Sudan.
‘’ An end to the conflict is the only way to ensure that the children of Sudan can access life-saving humanitarian aid and regain a sense of safety and have a chance at rebuilding their futures free from the horrors of war’’, Beigbeder said.
UNICEF noted that exposure to this violence, destruction and loss of loved ones manifested in children through reactions such as depression, nightmares and difficulty sleeping, aggressive or withdrawn behaviour, sadness and fear, amongst others.
A total 52 million children in countries affected by conflict, were estimated to be out of school. Children in the Gaza Strip – where thousands had been killed – and a significant portion of those in Sudan, had missed out on more than a year of school while in countries such as Ukraine, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Syria, schools had been damaged, destroyed or repurposed, leaving millions of children without access to learning.
‘’ The destruction of educational infrastructure and insecurity near schools have exacerbated an already dire situation for children’s education in these regions,’’ UNICEF said. These conflicts also had devastating effects on children’s access to critical healthcare.
‘’ The world is failing these children. As we look towards 2025, we must do more to turn the tide and save and improve the lives of children’’, said Catherine Russell, Executive Director of UNICEF. ‘’ We cannot allow a generation of children to become collateral damage to the world’s unchecked wars.’’
The year 2024 had been one of the worst years on record for children in conflict and in UNICEF’s history.
More children than ever were estimated to be either living in conflict zones or forcibly displaced due to conflict and violence. A record number of children affected by conflict were having their rights violated, including being killed and injured, missing life-saving vaccines and being critically malnourished. Conflict drove approximately 80 per cent of all humanitarian needs around the world, disrupting access to essentials, including safe water, food and healthcare.
Over 473 million children—more than one in six globally—now lived in areas affected by conflict, with the world experiencing the highest number of conflicts since World War II. The percentage of the world’s children living in conflict zones had doubled—from around 10 per cent in the 1990s to almost 19 per cent today.
Children, according to UNICEF, accounted for 30 per cent of the global population, yet on average, accounted for roughly 40 per cent of refugee populations and 49 per cent of internally displaced people. In countries affected by conflict, on average, over a third of the population was poor (34.8 per cent) compared to just over 10 per cent in non-conflict-affected countries.
“By almost every measure, 2024 has been one of the worst years on record for children in conflict in UNICEF’s history—both in terms of the number of children affected and the level of impact on their lives,” said Russell.
“A child growing up in a conflict zone is far more likely to be out of school, malnourished or forced from their home—too often repeatedly—compared to a child living in places of peace. This must not be the new normal.’’
With the overall upward trend in the number of grave violations—for example, thousands of children had been killed and injured in Gaza, and in Ukraine, the UN verified more child casualties during the first nine months of 2024 than during all of 2023—this year is likely to see another increase.
The situation for women and girls was particularly concerning, with widespread reports of rape and sexual violence in conflict settings. In Haiti, so far this year, there had been a 1,000 percent increase in reported incidents of sexual violence against children. In situations of armed conflict, children with disabilities also tend to be disproportionately exposed to violence and rights violations.
Malnutrition among children in conflict zones had also risen to alarming levels, as conflict and armed violence continued to be the primary drivers of hunger in numerous hotspots, disrupting food systems, displacing populations and obstructing humanitarian access.
For example, in Sudan, famine conditions were determined in North Darfur, the first famine determination since 2017. In 2024, more than half a million people in five conflict-affected countries were estimated to be living in the most extreme food insecurity situations.
Conflicts also had devastating effect on children’s access to critical healthcare. Around forty per cent of under-vaccinated children lived in countries that were either partially or entirely affected by conflict. These children were often the most vulnerable to disease outbreaks like measles and polio, because of disruptions and lack of access to security, nutrition and health services.
According to UNICEF, the year 2024 had become the deadliest on record for humanitarian personnel, with the recorded deaths of 281 aid workers globally, surpassing previous records.
“Children in war zones face a daily struggle for survival that deprives them of a childhood,” said Russell. “Their schools are bombed, homes destroyed and families torn apart. They lose not only their safety and access to basic life-sustaining necessities, but also their chance to play, to learn and to simply be children.
UNICEF called on all parties involved in these deadly conflicts and for those with influence over them, to take decisive action to end the suffering of children, to ensure their rights were upheld and to adhere to their obligations under international humanitarian law.
The United Security Council condemned the grave violations against children in these war-torn countries. These included the killing and maiming of children; recruitment of children in armed forces and armed groups; attacks on schools and hospitals; rape and other grave sexual violence incidents; abduction of children and denial of humanitarian access for children.
‘’ Armed forces and armed groups are required by international humanitarian law to take measures to protect civilians, including children who are particularly vulnerable during times of war.’’
