Four months of conflict, nearly 500 children died.

The UK charity Save the Children says that at least 498 children in Sudan, and possibly hundreds more, have died of starvation after four months of conflict.

Famine has claimed the lives of nearly 500 children in Sudan after four months of conflict. (Source: Flickr)

In a statement on August 22, Save the Children reported that in the capital Khartoum alone, at least 50 children, including at least 20 infants, died from starvation or related illnesses in an orphanage. Fighting between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) prevented staff from accessing the building to care for the children.

Since the violence erupted in April, Save the Children has been forced to close 57 nutrition care facilities, leaving 31,000 children across the country without treatment for malnutrition and related illnesses. At the 108 facilities that the agency still operates, food supplies are "severely depleted."

Dr. Arif Noor, Director of Save the Children in Sudan, said: "We never thought we would see so many children dying from starvation, but this is now a reality in Sudan."

With humanitarian access increasingly diminished, according to Arif Noor, “the international community must step up and strive not only to increase funding but also to find common solutions to ensure that much-needed food and support can be safely delivered to children and families across Sudan, including those trapped by the fighting.”

Last week, the heads of 20 international humanitarian organizations warned that more than 6 million Sudanese people are on the brink of starvation.

Save the Children began operating in Sudan in 1983. By 2022, the organization had directly reached 2.1 million people, including 1.5 million children, with programs focused on child protection, access to quality education , health and nutrition support, and emergency response.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/sudan-4-thang-xung-dot-gan-500-tre-tu-vong-239318.html