Generational crisis looms in Sudan

The tragedy unfolding in Sudan is enormous and heartbreaking – horrific violence, displacement on a massive scale, communities and families torn apart. Within that emergency, another crisis is unfolding, the effects of which could be felt for generations.

“I’m very worried about my son and his health,” Khuloud says of 14-month-old Ismail. “I’m overwhelmed with fear, because there’s nothing at home to give him to eat.”

Khuloud says that about a month ago, Ismail started experiencing diarrhea and vomiting. Worried that he was becoming malnourished, she took him to a health centre where he was screened for malnutrition. The centre provided treatment for Ismail, including ready-to-use-therapeutic food, an energy dense, micronutrient paste made using peanuts, sugar, milk powder, oil, vitamins and minerals.

“His condition is better today,” Khuloud says. “The treatment will improve his health because he responds quickly to the meals. I noticed an immediate improvement, especially after the diarrhea stopped.”

More than 20 months of conflict have sent malnutrition rates soaring, leaving Sudan facing an unprecedented hunger crisis. Some 3.2 million children under the age of five are likely to experience acute malnutrition in 2025, of whom more than 770,000 children are expected to suffer severe acute malnutrition, the most immediate, visible and life-threatening form of malnutrition. 

Children with severe acute malnutrition, also known as severe wasting, are too thin and their immune systems are weak, leaving them vulnerable to developmental delays, disease and death.

The unfolding nutrition catastrophe in Sudan has been compounded by disease outbreaks, deteriorating access to services like health and sanitation, and the world’s largest displacement crisis.

“We’ve been suffering since the beginning of the war,” says Rasha, as she sits holding her 9-month-old son Omer. “At first, we were displaced to Jazirah, then Gedaref, and now in Kassala.”

Such grueling journeys, often taking many days on foot in soaring temperatures, have become all-too familiar since violence erupted in April 2023. Rasha says Omer’s condition deteriorated as their journey wore on. Increasingly concerned for her son’s health, Rasha took Omer to a clinic, which then transferred him to a hospital for treatment.

“After 12 days, his condition improved, but we continue to follow up with the doctor,” Rasha says. “Every time she weighs him, he is making progress and provided with more nutrition supplements.”  

Displaced children are particularly vulnerable to malnutrition – accessing nutritious food is even more challenging on the move, and even when they find shelter they are frequently cut off from reliable access to treatment and other services. In August 2024 came confirmation that a camp sheltering hundreds of thousands of displaced people in North Darfur was experiencing famine.

In response to the heightened risk of famine around the country, UNICEF is rapidly scaling up its nutrition response, working with partners to:

In Aroma in Kassala state, in the east of the country, teams of health volunteers have been screening children for malnutrition as part of a UNICEF-supported door-to-door nutrition campaign.

“Volunteers come to our homes to check on us and our children. My son was examined and given vitamins to stay healthy,” says Nafisa. Children are also given deworming tablets, while pregnant women receive iron tablets and guidance on maternal health. “I hope they will maintain these visits and come to us regularly to follow up on mothers and children,” she adds.

Jamila also received a visit from health volunteers in Aroma. She says her daughter, Amna, was referred to a health facility after a screening suggested she was malnourished.

“The doctor examined her and confirmed it,” Jamila says. “They’ve given her this food in a packet which she is eating well. I hope that she recovers soon.”

But ensuring that children receive the therapeutic treatment they need, and that health facilities are stocked with crucial nutrients, is a daunting challenge. The ongoing conflict makes transporting supplies around the country extremely time consuming as permit approvals, checkpoints and cargo inspections add days or even weeks to journeys. Traversing this vast country, particularly during the rainy season, can also be fraught with risk as roads get flooded and infrastructure gets washed away. 

Yet even when children recover, malnutrition can have lifelong effects on a child’s development. Undernourished children may be affected by stunting, wasting or both. Those affected by stunting are too short for their age, and their brains may never develop to their full cognitive capacity, hindering their ability to learn as a child, earn as an adult, and participate meaningfully in their communities.

As the conflict approaches its second year, Sudan risks a lost generation, with grave implications for the country’s future.