Sudan: Children's Emergency appeal

Conflict broke out in Sudan in April 2023. Violence and instability have now spread across the country and wider region, turning millions of young lives upside down.

Nearly 1 in every 3 people in Sudan is displaced. Over 70% of hospitals have been damaged or destroyed. And around 90% of Sudan’s school-aged children can’t go to school.

Children have witnessed and been subject to brutal violence. They’ve lost family members. They’ve fled their homes, schools and communities – everything they know and love.

Many now live in overcrowded camps within and beyond Sudan’s borders. These are not safe places for such young lives. Danger is all around them. Even death. Because after 1,000 days of conflict, hunger now runs deep.

Almost half of Sudan’s population are facing high levels of acute hunger. Among them are 11 million girls and women. Children are already dying because of starvation. Urgent action is needed to save lives before it is too late. 

Over 17.3 million children urgently need help in the form of food, clean water, shelter, basic health services, education and protection services. Among them are millions of girls who are especially vulnerable to further harm. 

Girls are bearing the brunt of this devastating crisis. Reports of gender-based violence in the region have surged, with survivors sharing harrowing stories of rape and sexual violence.

Millions of girls are without the safety of home, the routine of school or the certainty of a full stomach, making them especially vulnerable to further harm. This includes kidnapping, exploitation, child marriage, loss of education and starvation.

When hunger strikes, girls often eat last and least. Some may experience rape, sexual violence and sexual exploitation in exchange for food. And when families struggle to feed their children, the risk of girls being married off increases.   

Once forced out of school, girls are more likely to experience sexual violence and exploitation and less likely to ever return to the classroom again. 

The UK Government must act now and stand up for the people of Sudan. In particular, we are encouraging the UK Government to:     

• Redouble its efforts to secure a ceasefire that ends the violence, including through the global leadership of the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary, UK action at the UN Security Council and greater pressure on external backers of the conflict parties. This includes acting rapidly in the Darfur and Kordofan regions to prevent a repeat of the violence and atrocities recently seen in El Fasher.

• Swiftly providing promised aid to save lives before it is too late, scaling up UK aid again in the new UK financial year from April, and urging other donors to give generously and promptly before it is too late.  

• Dramatically scale up UK aid to local and national groups and first-responders, given the vital role Sudanese groups are playing in saving lives.  

• Increase its aid levels for girls and women affected by the Sudan crisis given the heightened impacts they face and that their needs are so often overlooked.  

• Renew and expand its efforts to secure adherence to International Humanitarian Law and human rights law and facilitate humanitarian and commercial access into and throughout Sudan.