‘Since the war started, my daughter has fallen into a state of silence. I can feel her heart racing with fear.’
These are the words from a devastated mother that stayed with me as I left Khartoum, Sudan, which I’ve recently visited in my capacity as UNICEF’s representative in the war-torn country.
I was only there for a week but this was a chilling reminder from a mother who is running out of ways to shield her child from the wounds that this war continues to inflict on children in Sudan.
When the war in Sudan began in April 2023, Khartoum hit headlines across the world as foreigners were evacuated to safety.
Now, in August 2025, the limited attention Sudan receives in comparison to other conflicts around the world is inversely proportional to the scale and urgency with which this catastrophe is unfolding in real time.
I witnessed utter devastation in every corner of Khartoum, the Sudanese capital: Homes, houses, and buildings destroyed. Malnourished children reduced to skin and bones.
Communities uprooted. Buildings burnt out. Children cramped into small, damaged and overcrowded dwellings, with nowhere to go.
I spoke with parents who had walked long distances to find safety and health workers continuing to work despite the risks. On the ground, UNICEF teams and partners are working tirelessly, often in perilous conditions, continuing to deliver lifesaving aid.
These are the glimmers of resilience that shine through in a crisis of this scale.
Tragically, the situation in Khartoum is a microcosm of a much wider crisis across the country.
Sudan is today the biggest humanitarian crisis in the world. At least 25 million people – over half of the population – are estimated to be going hungry, and famine is spreading. More than 5 million children have been forced from their homes, and more than 90% are out of school.
On top of this, thousands of children have been killed, maimed, recruited, sexually violated or forced to endure other unspeakable horrors.
As I write this, thousands of children face starvation in the Sudanese city of Al Fasher, one of the most brutal frontlines in the war.
The city in western Darfur, home to about 300,000 people, is surrounded by paramilitary forces on all sides. Entire neighbourhoods have been attacked, hospitals bombed, and roads blocked.
Aid convoys face looting and attacks. Humanitarian access is now almost entirely cut off. UN agencies have not been able to deliver food by road to the city for more than a year.
Supplies of ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF), which treats severe wasting in those under five, are now exhausted in Al Fasher, and children are beginning to die of malnutrition.
UNICEF has used RUTF to bring hungry children back from the brink in Sudan, such as Salwa and her one-year-old daughter Anhar.
Salwa suffered from malnutrition before giving birth, and her daughter also developed malnutrition after delivery.
Salwa’s daughter, Anhar, was very sick – she couldn’t play or even sleep well, and her weight was extremely low, but after receiving RUTF she began to get better and is now making a full recovery.
It’s proof we can save lives with this formula, but the exhaustion of supplies risks a death sentence for starving children in Sudan, as is currently the case in the city of Al-Fasher.
And I saw first hand in the country’s capital how desperate the situation is.
Many refer to the conflict in Sudan as the ‘world’s forgotten crisis.’ But for the children who lived through it, lost their homes, relatives, and had their rights violated, there will be no forgetting.
The trauma will last a lifetime and reverberate through Sudan’s generations to come.
As I reflect on the words of the mother trying to protect her child in Khartoum, I have two clear asks for global leaders, as I encourage them to step up and do more.
Firstly, International Humanitarian Law must be upheld and UNICEF must be allowed safe and sustained access to reach children with lifesaving supplies – wherever they are.
This is particularly critical in areas on the frontlines, cut off from aid, such as Al Fasher.
Secondly, we urgently need more funding. This year’s cuts to international aid budgets from governments around the world risk making an already dire situation in Sudan even more catastrophic for children.
Any unexpected halts or cuts to funding can jeopardize the programmes delivering health, nutrition, water, sanitation, education and protection to millions of vulnerable children amid one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
The humanitarian needs in Sudan are staggering as the conflict enters its third year. Yet, currently, significant funding shortfalls mean we’re unable to meet the needs of a considerable number of children in Sudan.
Donate to Project Children in Sudan
Follow this link to UNICEF UK’s Sudan appeal and donate today: https://unicef.uk/sudan-metro
During my time in Sudan, I have seen the worst of what war can do and the best of what humanity can offer in response. Children in Sudan are resilient. They have endured war now for over two years. But they cannot survive without help.
They need us to remember their plight – but they need us to act, too.
We continue to call for sustained diplomatic efforts for peace. And while conflict endures, we all must collectively do everything in our power to support children – we cannot let them pay the ultimate price for it.
The world must not look away. Not now.
Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing Ross.Mccafferty@metro.co.uk.
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