UNICEF: El Fasher children face hunger, disease, and violence

August 27, 2025 (PEN) The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) warned that after more than 500 days of siege, the city of El Fasher in North Darfur has become a "center of suffering for children," where they face the daily threat of malnutrition, disease, and violence.

"Children in El Fasher are starving while life-saving nutrition services are being obstructed," said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell, stressing that "blocking humanitarian access is a grave violation of children's rights."

According to UNICEF, at least 600,000 people—half of them children—have been displaced from El Fasher and the surrounding camps, while approximately 260,000 civilians, including 130,000 children, remain trapped inside the city, deprived of aid for more than 16 months.

The organization added that the siege led to the suspension of health and nutrition services after supplies ran out, leaving approximately 6,000 children suffering from severe acute malnutrition (SAM) without treatment, warning that their lives are "at risk."

UNICEF reports have revealed grave violations against children since April 2024, including the killing and maiming of more than 1,000 children, 23 cases of rape and sexual assault, and the abduction and recruitment of children by armed groups. This week, seven children were killed in an attack on the Abu Shouk camp for displaced persons.

Under these circumstances, the organization noted that El Fasher is also facing the worst cholera outbreak in Sudan in decades, with more than 96,000 suspected cases and 2,400 deaths recorded nationwide, including approximately 5,000 cases and 98 deaths in Darfur alone.

UNICEF called on all parties to establish an immediate and sustained humanitarian ceasefire, ensure unhindered access to aid, including therapeutic food, medicine, and clean water, and protect civilians and civilian infrastructure in accordance with international humanitarian law.