United Nations: chaos in Sudan puts the future of the youngest at stake

The spread of fighting and hunger traumatizes young people, according to other reports denouncing the use of minors in combat.

Griffiths described the documents as deeply disturbing, warning that hundreds of thousands of children in the country suffer from acute malnutrition and are “at imminent risk of death” if left untreated.

These minors were particularly vulnerable to disease outbreaks and lacked access to medical treatment.

“The deadly combination of measles, malnutrition and displacement puts children’s lives at very great risk if urgent action is not taken,” the representative added.

Adding to this crisis is the collapse of the hospital system, with many areas of vital services disrupted, including maternal and child health care and treatment for severe acute malnutrition.

At least two million children have fled their homes since the conflict began just over four months ago, according to figures from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

And as the fighting continues, an entire generation of Sudanese youth is likely to be left without an education, the agency insisted.

“The protracted conflict in Sudan could lead the entire region to a humanitarian catastrophe,” Griffiths stressed, with numbers of people displaced across the border approaching one million.

The High Representative called on the parties to the conflict to “put the people of Sudan above the search for power or resources” and called on the international community to respond “with the speed this crisis deserves”.

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