Four United Nations agencies have warned that thousands of children are facing imminent death amid soaring rates of malnutrition in the besieged city of El Fasher, located in Sudan’s Darfur region.
They added that more than a quarter of a million civilians, roughly half of them children, have been cut off from food and healthcare in the city during the 16 months of ongoing fighting.
“The health facilities have collapsed, and thousands of children suffering from severe malnutrition are left without treatment,” the agencies said, according to Reuters.
El Fasher, which is experiencing famine conditions, is the last stronghold of the Sudanese army in the vast western region, where it has been battling the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in a civil war that erupted in April 2023.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM), the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and the World Food Programme (WFP) said their representatives had witnessed widespread destruction across Darfur and other parts of the country during their visit. The organizations reported that malnutrition rates have worsened nationwide.
They added: “Famine was confirmed in parts of Sudan last year, and the hunger situation remains catastrophic — with children among the hardest hit.”
Residents who returned to the capital, Khartoum, this year — after the army regained control — found neighborhoods in ruins.
Ugochi Daniels, Deputy Director General of the IOM, said: “I met people returning to a city still scarred by conflict, where homes are damaged and essential services are barely functioning.”
The organizations said that over 30 million people, including around 15 million children, are now in urgent need of assistance.
They added that only a quarter of the required $4.2 billion for the UN’s 2025 Humanitarian Response Plan for Sudan has been funded so far.
