This conflict is a part of the continuing battles between the nation’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). As per the information shared by World Health Organization, headquartered in Geneva, 413 people have died in Sudan’s current conflict, while children are paying a high price as per the UN Children agency. At least 9 have been reportedly killed in this fight with over 50 badly injured, according to the reports from the Turkish News Agency Anadolu.
Margaret Harris, the spokesperson of WHO told in a UN press conference that according to the Sudan government figures, around 413 have died and about 3551, have been injured in this conflict. She also added that there had been verified attacks on health facilities, including 10 since April 15. According to the Ministry of Health in Sudan, around 20 health facilities have stopped working and also the number of health facilities at risk of stopping is 12. This implies that all those people need care, especially those who have been injured hearings in terrible fighting. However, the people who were undergoing treatment before and continuing are also impacted said the WHO Spokesperson, according to Anadolu’s report.
At the same press conference, James Elder, the spokesperson of UNICEF reported that it is clearly understood that fighting takes a devastating toll on children of all ages. He added further that they have no reports of at least nine children killed and at least 50 injured. These numbers will continue to expand as long as this terrible fighting continues. Elder also said that large numbers of people are trapped and do yet not have any access to electricity. These people are terrified to run out of food, water and medicine supplies, the basic amenities of life. And one of the main and grave concerns is around hospitals that have come under fire. Elder said that Sudan had already had one of the world’s highest malnutrition rates among children and they have now got a situation in which critical life-saving support for around 50K children is still at risk.
‘The cold chain’ is also at risk for this fight in Sudan including over USD 40 million worth of vaccines and insulin, due to problems in electric supply and the inability to restock generators with fuel, said the spokesperson of UNICEF. UNICEF also has reports of children taking shelter in care centre’s and schools with fighting raging around them and of children’s hospitals forced to evacuate as shelling moves closer. Prior to the escalation, Elder declared violently those children in Sudan had severe humanitarian needs; it is estimated that about three-quarters of them need food assistance living in tremendous poverty. 11.5 million Children at the same time along with community members needed emergency water and sanitation services out of which around 7 million were out of schools and over 600,000 children suffered from severe acute malnutrition. The fighting has erupted last Saturday in the capital Khartoum and its surroundings.
There has been no functioning government since October 2021 in Sudan, when the military dismissed Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok’s transitional government and declared a state of emergency in what political forces called a ‘coup’.
