More than 400 people have died and over 3,500 others have been injured in fighting in Sudan, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The UN children’s agency UNICEF reported that at least nine children were among the dead and more than 50 children had been wounded. The fighting has also disrupted critical life-saving care for an estimated 50,000 severely acutely malnourished children. Additionally, there is a risk that the cold storage of over $40m worth of vaccines and insulin will be compromised due to power and fuel shortages.
Twenty health facilities have stopped functioning and another 12 are at risk, while many families are trapped with little or no access to food, water and medicine. The fighting is likely to have a devastating impact on the country’s children as long as it continues. “We need forces to immediately cease hostilities and for all parties to respect their international obligations to protect children from harm,” said UNICEF spokesman James Elder.
