UN humanitarians on Friday, February 9 highlighted a harrowing statistic: 700,000 children in Sudan are now facing the most severe form of malnutrition due to the ongoing conflict.

James Elder, a spokesperson for the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), described the situation in Sudan as "the world's largest displacement of children," with 4 million children displaced.

"That's 13,000 children every single day for 300 days," Elder said.

SOUNDBITE (English): MALAZ AHMED, Displaced child
"The war began in our area. Big sounds of shots, and then, they have more people. They were killed there (Genenia), and my neighbor was there. I couldn't go to my home, to (meet) with my grandmother and my aunt (who were) there. After that, the war was so difficult. They say you should go with us (her neighbors in Genenia), and your family will come after you."

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs recently called for 2.7 billion U.S. dollars to address the urgent needs within Sudan, but the appeal remains drastically underfunded at just four percent. This comes amid a brutal conflict that began last April, with rival factions showing no signs of compliance with peace efforts.

Elder's recent visit to Sudan's Darfur revealed a distressing reality: out of over 700,000 children suffering from severe acute malnutrition, UNICEF may only be able to treat less than half without increased support and access.

STORY: Sudan war leaves 700,000 children facing life-threatening malnutrition
SHOOTING TIME: Feb. 10, 2024
DATELINE: Feb. 11, 2024
LENGTH: 0:01:50
LOCATION: DARFUR, Sudan
CATEGORY: SOCIETY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of Hamadia Internally Displaced Person's Camp
2. SOUNDBITE (English): MALAZ AHMED, Displaced child

STORYLINE:

UN humanitarians on Friday highlighted a harrowing statistic: 700,000 children in Sudan are now facing the most severe form of malnutrition due to the ongoing conflict.

James Elder, a spokesperson for the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), described the situation in Sudan as "the world's largest displacement of children," with 4 million children displaced.

"That's 13,000 children every single day for 300 days," Elder said.

SOUNDBITE (English): MALAZ AHMED, Displaced child
"The war began in our area. Big sounds of shots, and then, they have more people. They were killed there (Genenia), and my neighbor was there. I couldn't go to my home, to (meet) with my grandmother and my aunt (who were) there. After that, the war was so difficult. They say you should go with us (her neighbors in Genenia), and your family will come after you."

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs recently called for 2.7 billion U.S. dollars to address the urgent needs within Sudan, but the appeal remains drastically underfunded at just four percent. This comes amid a brutal conflict that began last April, with rival factions showing no signs of compliance with peace efforts.

Elder's recent visit to Sudan's Darfur revealed a distressing reality: out of over 700,000 children suffering from severe acute malnutrition, UNICEF may only be able to treat less than half without increased support and access.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Darfur, Sudan.
(XHTV)