Voices from Sudan 

Voices from Sudan  

Over two years into one of the world’s most devastating and overlooked conflicts, Sudan has become a country where childhood is under siege.

Over 15 million children are now in desperate need of humanitarian assistance. More than 7 million have been forced from their homes – many fleeing again and again. Schools have become shelters or battlegrounds. Classrooms are silent.

The war has stolen futures and turned dreams into struggles for survival. Children like Wisam, just nine years old, should be in school, not dodging bullets. Nashwa, once set on becoming a doctor, now spends her days hauling water. And Aminah, 17, a survivor of sexual violence, now lives with trauma no child should ever endure.

As the violence enters its third year, the scale and complexity of Sudan’s crisis deepens. 

A young boy is pictured in a refugee camp, one of many displaced children and families that fled the fighting. They arrive with little or nothing: no food, no shelter, and lacking the basic necessities for survival.

What’s happening in Sudan?

Since war began in Sudan in April 2023, the country has become the world’s largest displacement crisis for children. Entire communities have been uprooted. 10.8 million people – half of them children – have fled their homes.

The crisis is now defined by a dangerous mix of threats. Famine has already taken hold in areas like Zamzam camp in North Darfur. At least five regions are affected, with many more on the brink.

Disease outbreaks are spreading rapidly. In 2024 alone, 49,000 cholera cases were reported – most among women and children. Healthcare has collapsed: 730,000 children are suffering from severe wasting and may not survive without treatment. Over 1.7 million babies are missing life-saving vaccinations.

Exposure to violence, displacement, and loss has left thousands of children with deep emotional scars. Education is in ruins: a generation risks losing access to learning, with millions of school-age children out of classrooms entirely.

UNICEF is on the ground combating these deadly threats every day, for every child and every family. Below are just some of their stories. 

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Mothers lead the fight against malnutrition

Each morning, Fatima meets with her Mother Support Group at Fedieab Primary Health Centre. Over coffee, they plan home visits – equipped with counselling cards and colour-coded tapes to screen children for malnutrition.

Fatima, a UNICEF-supported health promoter, walks long distances daily to reach families. Today, she visits Mona, a mother of three. Gently measuring baby Muhanad’s arm, Fatima smiles – he’s healthy. She coaches Mona on breastfeeding, then checks on her older children, praising Mona’s progress.

“I used to see Mona practicing unhealthy habits, but after our sessions, she changed. Now, all her children are healthy,” Fatima said.

Together, they prepare Kushari, a nutritious meal. Mona also uses a UNICEF-designed feeding bowl, its illustrated sections helping her serve balanced meals.

“I have learned a lot from Fatima,” Mona said. Thanks to women like Fatima, mothers are becoming the frontline of prevention in Sudan’s nutrition crisis.

Fatima screens a child during house-to-house visits. She has been at the helm of health education in her community for three years now, informing parents and caregivers on child health especially during the first 1,000 days of life.

Supporting dreams

"I was so scared. I thought the soldiers would shoot us any moment. My sister couldn’t speak for days.”

13-year-old Aya was robbed of an education by war. When bullets struck her neighbour’s house, her family had no choice but to flee.

After 18 months out of school, she received a second chance at education through a UNICEF safe learning space. Now she can continue working towards her dream of learning English and becoming a doctor.

You can help children in Sudan
4-year-old Watin drinks oral rehydration solution in a UNICEF-supported medical clinic. Her mum Isrin said her daughter had “diarrhoea and cough for two days.” But thanks to a simple yet life-saving solution of water, glucose, sodium, and potassium – known as oral rehydration solution – her potentially deadly dehydration was reversed.

Fighting cholera on the frontlines

Three-year-old Fatuma lies weakly on a cot outside a blue tent, recovering from four days of acute diarrhoea. Her mother, Nada, holds her hand and listens carefully as UNICEF-supported health workers explain how handwashing, clean water, and early treatment can prevent deadly cholera.

“When we came, she could not even open her eyes,” Nada said quietly. Now, there’s a sign of hope.

Cholera is preventable and treatable – but in war-torn Sudan, years of conflict have shattered health systems. Displaced families live in overcrowded camps with poor sanitation and limited access to clean water.

To respond, UNICEF has set-up oral rehydration points near outbreak hotspots – offering life-saving fluids, hygiene guidance, and swift treatment. Volunteers go door to door in camps, teaching families how to stay safe and prepare homemade rehydration salts.

In places where health care is scarce, simple knowledge and swift action are saving lives.

 

Sudan in photos

© UNICEF/UNI618028/Faiz Abubakr. All rights reserved.
© UNICEF/UN0841476/Satti Mohamed Satti. All rights reserved.
© UNICEF/UNI661421/Mohammed Elibrahimi ISAMALDEEN Isamaldeen. All rights reserved.
© UNICEF/UNI781065/Mohammed Jamal. All rights reserved.
© UNICEF/UNI625541/Mohammed Jamal. All rights reserved.
© UNICEF/UNI781060/Mohammed Jamal. All rights reserved.
© UNICEF/UNI681101/Ahmed Mohamdeen Elfatih. All rights reserved.
© UNICEF/UNI756107/Mohammed Abdulmajid. All rights reserved.

 

With Waleed strapped to her back and two children in hand, Hawa walked three days from Zamzam camp to Tawila, fleeing bombs and bullets in search of safety. But safety is still out of reach.

“In the past, we had three meals per day. For the past two years, giving them one meal a day is a miracle,” she said with exhaustion.

Thanks to UNICEF supporters, Waleed can receive some food, shelter and medicine. But he is weak, and every day without help puts his life further at risk.

“The bombs were falling on the hospital. The sick were killed. Those of us who survived, left with only our children on our backs,” Hawa said. 

Now, in a place meant to offer hope, families like Hawa’s are sleeping on old sacks, exposed to the cold, waiting – for dignity, care, and the chance to rebuild what was lost. Through our supporters, UNICEF is helping provide it. 

Hawa holds her son Waleed. She fled the Zamzam camp and walked for three days while carrying her child. The journey took a heavy toll on her already weak baby boy.

 

Can you help children in Sudan? 

Supporting UNICEF today means you can help children across Sudan. By giving a gift, particularly a monthly gift, you allow us to work fast in emergencies to save lives and run long-term programmes that keep vulnerable children safe and healthy despite the multiple threats they face. 

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