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

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

Escalation in violence in Sennar’s state capital Sinja on 29 June triggered widespread fighting which has displaced about 725,000 people, over half of whom are estimated to be children, according to data from International Organization for Migration’s Displacement Tracking Matrix (IOM DTM).[1]

Families are fleeing to Blue Nile and Gedaref states with rising numbers 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 child protection teams in Blue Nile and Gedaref states have recorded at least 451 children between June 29 and August 14 forced to make the perilous journey to safety without their parents, the highest number they have recorded in such a short period since the conflict started in April 2023.

At least 60,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) who have made their way to Blue Nile state have been settled in more than 109 gathering sites and schools, which could delay reopening of schools in September.

Further, ongoing heavy rains and floodings are compounding the suffering for families and children fleeing fighting, with muddy and impassable roads making it difficult to get essential supplies, including food and medicine to people who need them.

The interior ministry this month reported heavy rainfall across different parts of the country killing at least 68 people, increasing the suffering for millions of people struggling to survive in the world’s largest displacement crisis. The heavy rains have also led to a scarcity of essential drugs and goods such as wheat flour, oil, cereals and onions. in the local markets, driving up prices.

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

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

“Our staff in Blue Nile and Gedaref states are receiving at least nine children without their parents in camps for displaced people every day. During my visit to an IDP camp in Gedaref last month I saw children who had endured terrifying journeys arrive 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 guardians. They’ve lost loved ones and been subject to unspeakable violence. We know that children who have been separated from families are at much higher risk of violence, abuse and exploitation, including trafficking, recruitment into armed groups and sexual and gender-based violence.

“In Gedaref, Save the Children has put up a child friendly space where children can play and be children again. They are sheltered from the fighting happening outside this place and receive lots of psychosocial support from our staff. Here, they have a chance to express their emotions through drawing, find comfort in other children and even enjoy a game of volleyball.

“What I personally witnessed is that children even in the most dire and trying of 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 as well as for the international community to step up and release the necessary funding and resources to protect children’s lives.”

The humanitarian response for Sudan is significantly underfunded, with donors contributing just 37.4% to 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) has surged to unprecedented levels. Data from the aid agency showing a rapid spike in malnutrition in the central southern state of South Kordofan where the number of under-fives admitted with SAM in June in alone was 99% of the programme’s expected case load for the year [1]. 

At the same time, the Famine Review Committee of the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) – the leading international authority on the severity of hunger crises – said there was famine in North Darfur’s Zamzam Camp due to the escalating humanitarian crisis which threatens to spill over into the rest of Sudan. 

Save the Children, in partnership with Ministry of Social Development, State Council for Child Welfare and Family and Child Protection Unit, is supporting unaccompanied and separated children with an interim 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 worked in Sudan since 1983 and is currently supporting children and their families across Sudan providing health, nutrition, education, child protection and food security and livelihoods support. Save the Children is also supporting refugees from Sudan in Egypt and South Sudan. 

ENDS 

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

Subsequent 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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