Since April, 500 children are estimated to have died in Sudan from hunger, according to charities

Since conflict broke out in the East African nation in April, some 500 children have perished in Sudan from starvation, including two dozen babies at a government-run orphanage in Khartoum, according to a major relief organisation.

Additionally, Save the Children reported that since the charity was forced to shut down 57 of its nutrition centres in Sudan, at least 31,000 children do not have access to care for malnutrition and associated ailments.

After months-long hostilities between the military and a rival paramilitary outfit broke out in the open on April 15, Sudan descended into anarchy. Urban places like Khartoum and others have become battlegrounds as a result of the fighting. The country’s healthcare system is on the verge of collapse, and many citizens lack access to electricity and water.

Arif Noor, director of Save the Children for Sudan, said, “We never imagined we’d see kids dying from hunger in such numbers, but this is now the reality in Sudan.” “We are witnessing children dying from utterly avoidable hunger.”

According to Liz Throssell, a representative for the U.N. human rights office, the violence in Sudan is thought to have resulted in at least 4,000 fatalities. However, local activists and medical professionals claim that the actual death toll is probably much higher.

U.N. East Africa regional refugee chief and coordinator for Sudan, Mamadou Dian Balde, stated at a press conference that 3.6 million Sudanese are internally displaced in addition to the 947,000 people who have fled the country.

Speaking from the White Nile state of Sudan, Balde hailed the neighbours Chad, Egypt, South Sudan, Ethiopia, and Central African Republic for welcoming refugees from the violence. Nevertheless, he voiced concern that “we started seeing and witnessing bureaucratic barriers as well as challenges into admission” recently.

Balde urged all nations to maintain their borders open. Additionally, he urged donors to kindly contribute to the $566 million appeal for Sudanese refugees, which is currently only 35% financed.

According to Save the Children, in the southern Province of the White Nile, malnutrition or related ailments claimed the lives of at least 316 children between May and July, the majority of whom were under the age of 5. Severe acute malnutrition, the most lethal type of malnutrition, has caused more than 2,400 hospital admissions of children in the previous eight months, it noted.

Between April and July, the government-run Children’s Hospital in the eastern province of Qadarif recorded at least 132 child deaths due to malnutrition.

And in the first six weeks of the battle, Save the Children reported that at least 50 children, including 20 babies, perished in an orphanage in Khartoum due to malnutrition or illnesses related to it because the fighting made it impossible for personnel to get to the facility to provide for them.

Additionally, Save the Children issued a warning about the 108 institutions it still runs throughout Sudan that depend on specialised food supplies for treating malnutrition.

The conflict and economic decline in Sudan have left about 20.3 million people — or more than 42% of the nation’s population of more than 46 million people — in high levels of acute food insecurity, according to the U.N.-led Integrated Food Security Phase Classification. According to the organisation, nearly 6.3 million of them reside in regions that are just short of receiving an official famine designation.

As the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces attempted to take control of the vital facility, fighting broke out this week outside a military camp south of Khartoum, according to the belligerent parties.

The South Darfur province’s capital, Nyala, was the scene of fierce fighting last week, according to reports. Some of the deadliest outbreaks of fighting in the conflict occurred in the vast Darfur region, where there were ethnic confrontations.