Three million Sudan children to face acute malnutrition – UNICEF
UNICEF reports that an estimated 3.2 million children below the age of five are expected to experience acute malnutrition this year in conflict torn Sudan, according to The New Arab and agencies.
“Of this number, around 772,000 children are expected to suffer from severe acute malnutrition,” Eva Hinds, UNICEF Sudan’s Head of Advocacy and Communication told AFP on January 9th.
Famine has already deeply affected five areas of Sudan, according to a report from December 2024 by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), which is a UN-backed assessment.
Sudan has dealt with 20 months of war between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), leading to tens of thousands of deaths.
Hinds confirmed to AFP that 3.2 million children are presently expected to experience acute malnutrition and added that “the number of severely malnourished children increased from an estimated 730,000 in 2024 to over 770,000 in 2025.”
According to the IPC, famine is expected to reach five more parts of the country’s western Darfur region by May- a large area which has been home to some of the conflicts most severe violence.
The IPC also said that an additional 17 areas in western and central Sudan are also in danger of facing famine.
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Hinds said: “Without immediate, unhindered humanitarian access facilitating a significant scale-up of a multisectoral response, malnutrition is likely to increase in these areas.”
The country’s government reportedly rejected IPC’s findings.
Around the country, over 24.6 million people, which amounts to around half the population, are experiencing “high levels of acute food insecurity,” the IPC reported.
The IPC added: “Only a ceasefire can reduce the risk of famine spreading further”.
Following an outbreak of Cholera in early August last year, 1,316 people died, as reported by Anadolu Agency on December 31st 2024.
The New Arab and agencies, Anadolu Agency,
