Sudan: Hundreds of unaccompanied children among thousands fleeing latest wave of fighting

PORT SUDAN, August 22, 2024 – Nearly 500 unaccompanied and separated children have arrived in Blue Nile and Gedaref states in six weeks, as heavy fighting forces more people to flee for safety after 16 months of conflict, Save the Children said.

The escalation of violence in the Sennar state capital, Sinja, on June 29 led to widespread fighting, displacing approximately 725,000 people, more than half of whom are estimated to be children, according to data from the International Organization for Migration’s Displacement Tracking Matrix (IOM DTM).(1)

Families are fleeing to Blue Nile and Gedaref states, with an increasing number of children arriving without their parents, Save the Children said. Many of these families are being displaced for the second and third time, having sought refuge in Sinja in Sennar state after fleeing Khartoum and Gazira states earlier in the conflict.

Save the Children’s child protection teams in Blue Nile and Gedaref states recorded at least 451 children who had to make the perilous journey to safety without their parents between 29 June and 14 August. This is the highest number they have recorded in such a short period since the conflict began in April 2023.

At least 60,000 displaced people who have come to Blue Nile State have been relocated to more than 109 gathering sites and schools, potentially delaying the reopening of schools in September.

In addition, persistent heavy rains and flooding are exacerbating the suffering of families and children fleeing the fighting. Muddy and impassable roads are making it difficult to get essential goods, such as food and medicine, to those who need them.

The Interior Ministry reported this month that heavy rains have struck several parts of the country, killing at least 68 people and adding to the suffering of millions struggling to survive in the world’s largest displacement crisis. The heavy rains have also led to shortages of essential medicines and commodities such as wheat flour, oil, grains and onions in local markets, pushing up prices.

More than 16 months of conflict have killed and injured thousands of children, forced many into child labour, destroyed health and education systems, disrupted food systems and created the world’s worst child displacement crisis, with 6.7 million children now uprooted from their homes (4).

Mary Lupul, Save the Children’s Humanitarian Director in Sudan, said:

“Our staff in Blue Nile and Gedaref states receive at least nine children without their parents every day in IDP camps. During my visit to an IDP camp in Gedaref last month, I saw children who had endured a terrifying journey arriving at our reception centres, completely exhausted and many showing signs of malnutrition.

“These children have seen their homes, hospitals, playgrounds and schools bombed, looted and occupied, and have been separated from their parents or caregivers. They have lost loved ones and have been subjected to unspeakable violence. We know that children separated from their families are at much greater risk of violence, abuse and exploitation, including trafficking, recruitment into armed groups, and sexual and gender-based violence.

“In Gedaref, Save the Children has set up a child-friendly space where children can play and be children again. They are protected from the fighting that takes place outside this place and receive a lot of psychosocial support from our staff. Here they have the opportunity to express their emotions by drawing, finding comfort with other children and even enjoying a game of volleyball.

“What I have seen firsthand is that children, even in the most dire and difficult circumstances, want to be children and the opportunity to play and be with other children is so important. Yet this crisis is not getting the attention it deserves. Save the Children is calling for an immediate ceasefire and meaningful progress towards a lasting peace agreement, and for the international community to step up and provide the necessary funding and resources to protect the lives of children.”

Humanitarian aid for Sudan is severely underfunded, with donors contributing only 37.4% of a $2.7 billion UN response plan.

In early August, Save the Children warned that the number of children in Sudan seeking treatment for severe acute malnutrition (SAM) had risen to unprecedented levels. Data from the aid agency shows a rapid spike in malnutrition in the central southern state of South Kordofan, where the number of children under five admitted with SAM in June alone was 99% of the programme’s expected caseload for the year (1).

At the same time, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) Famine Review Committee – the leading international authority on the severity of hunger crises – reported that famine is occurring in the Zamzam camp in North Darfur as the escalating humanitarian crisis threatens to spill over into the rest of Sudan.

Save the Children, in partnership with the Ministry of Social Development, the State Council for Child Welfare and the Family and Child Protection Unit, is supporting unaccompanied and separated children with a temporary care package that includes basic items such as rice, lentils, sugar, cooking oil, soap, blankets and mosquito nets in Damazine, Blue Nile State.

Save the Children has been active in Sudan since 1983 and currently supports children and their families across Sudan by providing health, nutrition, education, child protection, and food security and livelihoods. Save the Children also supports refugees from Sudan in Egypt and South Sudan.

END

(1) https://dtm.iom.int/reports/dtm-sudan-flash-alert-overview-june-july-2024?close=true

Later IOM flash updates report that further displacement has occurred in Sennar State in August. For example: https://reliefweb.int/report/sudan/dtm-sudan-flash-alert-conflict-abu-hujar-galgani-town-sennar-update-seven

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