4 ways UNICEF is supporting Sudan’s children
Brutal conflict has forced thousands of families to flee their homes. UNICEF is providing desperately needed support to children on the move.
The fear and upheaval that families in Sudan are facing is almost impossible to imagine. Ongoing conflict has forced tens of thousands of children and their families to leave their homes. Thousands have fled across the country’s borders in search of safety. Others have been internally displaced – their situations precarious, their futures in the balance.
Many communities receiving displaced populations were already affected by multiple crises, with basic services and existing humanitarian capacity already overstretched. UNICEF is working closely with partners in Sudan and with governments and partners in neighbouring countries to step up life-saving services and support for displaced children and families and host communities.
Donate now to support Sudan’s children
UNICEF is supporting Sudan’s children with health and nutrition services
Humanitarian crises can have a devastating impact on children's health, including access to nutrition. Conflicts are often marked by limited access to nutritious, safe and affordable food as well as disruptions to essential health and nutrition services.
Sudan already had one of the highest malnutrition rates in the world, with more than 600,000 children suffering from severe wasting and at high risk of death. UNICEF has therefore been on the ground – before and since the start of the current conflict – supporting nutrition services for children under five suffering from severe acute malnutrition in health centres and mobile clinics as well as providing house-to-house nutrition screenings to help identify malnutrition cases early.
In addition, UNICEF is providing health screening referrals, vaccinations, essential drugs and medical kits to ensure access to health care and services for displaced, host and refugee populations.
Ensuring access to safe water
Water and sanitation systems are often vulnerable to attack during conflict. A lack of adequate, safe water and sanitation and hygiene facilities means children – especially those already suffering from malnutrition and weakened immune systems – become even more susceptible to water-borne diseases.
Even before the current conflict, many families in Sudan were struggling to access safe water and adequate sanitation, with many areas in the country facing crisis levels of water scarcity. UNICEF is providing safe water through water trucking, water treatment and the digging and repairing of boreholes to help meet the needs of refugees, displaced families and host communities.
Providing psychosocial support
Thousands of children have experienced deeply traumatic events or have been driven from their homes in search of relative safety since the conflict erupted. Violence can take a lifelong toll on children's emotional health, physical health and social development. If exposed in early childhood, the experience can even hamper a child’s brain development.
UNICEF is providing psychosocial support for impacted children including child friendly spaces, case management and referral to specialized services. UNICEF also supports family tracing and reunification, as well as case management of unaccompanied and separated children.
And helping children to keep learning – safely
For children living through emergencies, education is about more than the right to learn. Schools protect children from the physical dangers around them – including abuse and exploitation. They provide children with lifesaving food, water, health care and hygiene supplies. And they offer psychosocial support, giving children stability and structure to help them cope with the trauma they experience every day.
The conflict in Sudan has forced many schools and educational institutions in conflict affected areas to close, compounding a learning crisis in the country that had left almost 7 million school-age children out of school. UNICEF is providing education services in Sudan and neighbouring countries to ensure displaced and host community children and adolescents can access inclusive, quality education and learning opportunities in safe and protective environments. UNICEF is also operating dozens of e-learning centres to provide a safe and secure place for children to continue their educations.
UNICEF remains committed to reaching vulnerable children and families with lifesaving support and protection even as armed conflict continues. Donate now to support our work:
