By Tendai Makaripe
Five million children in Sudan’s Darfur region are facing extreme hunger, violence, displacement and disease as the country’s war enters its fourth year, UNICEF has warned.
The United Nations children’s agency issued a rare Child Alert for Darfur this week, saying children in the region have reached “a breaking point.”
UNICEF said children are being killed, maimed, abducted and recruited by armed groups as fighting deepens across the conflict-hit region.
The warning comes two decades after Darfur first drew global attention because of mass violence and displacement.
The Darfur children crisis has left children without food, safe water, health care, education and protection.
Reuters reported that homes, schools and health facilities have been destroyed, while families have been forced to flee repeatedly.
The crisis is severe in North Darfur, where acute malnutrition has reached famine levels in some areas.
In al-Fashir, more than 1,300 children have reportedly been killed or maimed since April 2024, according to UNICEF figures cited by Reuters.
The city has become one of the most dangerous places for children as fighting, hunger and limited humanitarian access worsen.
UNICEF said many children have “witnessed killings, lost parents or been separated from their families”.
Others are living in overcrowded displacement sites with little access to food, clean water or medical care.
The agency said active fighting and access restrictions have made it difficult for humanitarian workers to reach children in urgent need.
Funding shortages have also weakened the response.
Reuters reported that UNICEF’s 2026 appeal for Sudan is only 16 percent funded, leaving major gaps in food, health care, nutrition, water, sanitation and child protection services.
The crisis has also spread beyond Sudan’s borders.
In eastern Chad, where many Sudanese refugees have fled, aid groups have warned of disease outbreaks in overcrowded camps.
Analysts said children in armed conflict face increased risks of recruitment, sexual violence, family separation, malnutrition, disease and long-term trauma.
UNICEF called for urgent action to protect children, allow humanitarian access and increase funding for life-saving services.
The global children’s watchdog said the Darfur children crisis has left children in need of food, safe water, health care, nutrition treatment, education, family tracing and psychosocial support.
It also called for children to be “protected from recruitment, abduction and other grave violations”.
For millions of children in Darfur, the war has destroyed the systems that should keep them safe.
UNICEF said urgent action is needed before more children die from violence, hunger and disease.
