UNICEF Warns of Catastrophic Loss of Life in Sudan as Famine Looms
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) sounded an alarm on Friday, warning of potential catastrophic loss of life in Sudan as the country edges closer to famine, exacerbated by the ongoing civil war.
The agency called for widespread mobilization of resources to address the escalating crisis.
Clashes between Sudan’s military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces are intensifying in a conflict that has already claimed thousands of lives, displaced millions within and beyond the country's borders, and spurred warnings of impending famine.
Gill Loler, the Chief of Field Operations and Emergency at UNICEF, stated during a United Nations briefing in Geneva, "The brutal war in Sudan is pushing the nation towards famine. Without enough political will, attention, and allocated resources to respond now, we are on a course towards a potential catastrophic loss of life."
Loler was part of the first United Nations mission to return to the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, since fighting broke out between the military and the Rapid Support Forces in April 2023. She reported that the 12-member team found children suffering from malnutrition living in dark, under-equipped hospitals due to generator failures.
One particularly dire case involved a three-month-old infant who was extremely ill because the mother, unable to afford formula milk, resorted to using goat's milk which led to the child contracting severe diarrhea. Loler emphasized, "Hunger is widespread, and it is the primary concern that people have expressed."
In another hospital, up to three patients were seen sharing a single bed due to the overcrowding and lack of resources.
Earlier, UNICEF had warned that up to 3.7 million children could suffer from acute malnutrition this year in Sudan, including 730,000 children in critical need of life-saving treatment.
Clashes between Sudan’s military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces are intensifying in a conflict that has already claimed thousands of lives, displaced millions within and beyond the country's borders, and spurred warnings of impending famine.
Gill Loler, the Chief of Field Operations and Emergency at UNICEF, stated during a United Nations briefing in Geneva, "The brutal war in Sudan is pushing the nation towards famine. Without enough political will, attention, and allocated resources to respond now, we are on a course towards a potential catastrophic loss of life."
Loler was part of the first United Nations mission to return to the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, since fighting broke out between the military and the Rapid Support Forces in April 2023. She reported that the 12-member team found children suffering from malnutrition living in dark, under-equipped hospitals due to generator failures.
One particularly dire case involved a three-month-old infant who was extremely ill because the mother, unable to afford formula milk, resorted to using goat's milk which led to the child contracting severe diarrhea. Loler emphasized, "Hunger is widespread, and it is the primary concern that people have expressed."
In another hospital, up to three patients were seen sharing a single bed due to the overcrowding and lack of resources.
Earlier, UNICEF had warned that up to 3.7 million children could suffer from acute malnutrition this year in Sudan, including 730,000 children in critical need of life-saving treatment.
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Translated by AI