UN agencies reports 10,000 children deprived of food, healthcare in Sudan

Anjali Sharma

 GG News Bureau

UNITED NATIONS, 19th Oct. WHO and UNICEF on Wednesday said that over 10000 children under the age of 5 in Sudan facing food insecurity and disruptions to essential health services.

The agencies warned that millions of children in the country are at risk of cholera, dengue, measles, malaria and other diseases “without sufficient containment capacities”.

They said that over 6 months of conflict between the national army which answers to the military government in Khartoum and the rival Rapid Support Forces militia, Sudan’s health system is on its knees.

WHO and UNICEF said that health workers have gone without pay for months and more than two out of three hospitals in conflict-affected states are not functional.

Some 700,000 children are suffering from severe acute malnutrition and 100,000 require life-saving treatment for acute malnutrition with medical complications.

WHO and UNICEF said they have been working with partners to ensure primary healthcare, life-saving medical supplies and nourishment are accessible to the most vulnerable, also supporting the health authorities’ response to a deadly cholera outbreak which started last month.

They warned that current resources can only help reach “a fraction” of those in need.