Every seventh child under five in Sudan suffers from acute malnutrition. (AFP file photo)
Geneva: The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported that nearly 25 million people need humanitarian aid and 11 million people need urgent health assistance.
WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean Dr. Ahmed Al Mandhari described the statistics from Sudan as "shocking," warning that any delay in responding to the Sudanese crisis would result in further loss of life.
Dr. Al Mandhari further highlighted that more than 20 million people in Sudan are facing high levels of acute food insecurity. Alarmingly, every seventh child under five in Sudan suffers from acute malnutrition.
An estimated 70% of hospitals in the conflict-affected states are not working, and the remaining ones are overwhelmed by the influx of people seeking care, many of whom are internally displaced. With children representing about half of the 6.3 million people forced to flee the violence, Sudan is now the country with the largest child displacement crisis in the world.
The skyrocketing humanitarian needs have been further complicated by a rapidly spreading cholera outbreak, putting more than 3 million people at risk, UN official said.
Dr. Al Mandhari welcomed the Statement of Commitments adopted in Jeddah on November 7 by parties to the conflict to protect civilians, facilitate unimpeded humanitarian access, and establish a Humanitarian Forum for Sudan led by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
However, with half of the attacks on health care, the attacks must stop immediately as they severely disrupt the delivery of health care and further worsen an already desperate humanitarian situation.
The latest United Nations statistics indicate that the conflict in Sudan has resulted in at least 3,900 deaths and has forced more than 4 million people to leave their homes, either relocating to other states unaffected by violence or fleeing the country.
