The United Nations has raised serious concerns over the worsening humanitarian crisis in Sudan, warning that millions of children are at grave risk due to ongoing conflict and disease outbreaks.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), children make up half of the 30 million people in urgent need of humanitarian aid in Sudan. The civil war, which began in April 2023, has displaced over 12 million people, many of them children who are now separated from their families and highly vulnerable to exploitation, abuse, and trauma.

Despite the urgent need, only 18 percent of children in need have received essential protection services in 2025, OCHA reported. The shortfall is due to limited humanitarian funding and restricted access.

Health threats have further worsened the crisis. A major cholera outbreak since July 2024 has resulted in over 80,000 suspected cases and more than 2,000 deaths—nearly 7,300 cases and 230 deaths among children under five. Meanwhile, a measles outbreak has also emerged, with more than 2,200 suspected cases so far this year. Over 60 percent of those affected are children under five.

Efforts by UN health partners to respond to these outbreaks are being severely constrained by vaccine shortages, inadequate medical supplies, limited trained personnel, and gaps in reliable data.

OCHA has called for an immediate ceasefire and unrestricted humanitarian access to reach affected populations. The agency stressed the urgent need to scale up aid delivery and protection services for children and other vulnerable groups across Sudan.

Without decisive global action, millions of children face a future marked by displacement, disease, and despair.