Sudan Crisis: Children Suffer as Schools Struggle to Reopen

Girls attend a UNICEF-supported class at a camp for displaced people in Gedaref State, Sudan.

Aid agencies in war-torn Sudan issued an urgent alert on Friday over the severe harm faced by children as the conflict continues.

After more than two years of civil war, over 25 million people are acutely hungry, and at least 20 million require urgent health services.

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) warned that displaced families in some areas have not received aid for three months, and funding shortfalls have forced WFP to reduce support where access is limited.

“The scale of needs in Sudan is so vast that we must make difficult decisions on who receives assistance. These are heartbreaking choices,” said WFP’s Leni Kinzli, appealing for increased international funding.

Children are particularly vulnerable, with malnutrition “surging,” especially among young children and their mothers.

According to UNFPA and partners in education, about 13 million of the 17 million school-age children in Sudan are out of school. This includes seven million enrolled but unable to attend due to conflict or displacement, and six million who have not registered for the school year.

UNFPA reported that 45% of schools—nearly 9,000—have reopened this month, according to the Global Education Cluster of 60 UN and NGO entities. additional support such as meals, safe water, sanitation, and counselling to help children process trauma.

Between November 2024 and July 2025, over two million people returned to former homes across Sudan, mostly in Aj Jazirah (48%), Khartoum (30%), Sennar (9%), Blue Nile (7%), and White Nile (5%), according to UN migration agency IOM.

Only about 1% returned to River Nile and West Darfur. Of the returnees, 77% came from temporary homes inside Sudan, and 23% returned from abroad. This is only a fraction of the more than 4.2 million refugees who fled to neighboring countries since war erupted on 15 April 2023.

Eighteen-month-old Aysha Jebrellah was admitted to Port Sudan Paediatric Hospital for severe acute malnutrition. Her mother, Aziza, accompanied her as medical teams provided lifesaving nutritional support.

Aziza described her daughter’s condition before admission: diarrhoea, fever for two weeks, and refusal to eat. “I feared I would lose her. Now I have hope she will recover,” she said.

To meet health needs in Sudan, WHO’s $135 million appeal is only one-fifth funded. “It’s only a fraction of what is urgently needed,” the agency said.