Over Half of Children Malnourished in Sudan’s Um Baru as Humanitarian Crisis Deepens

The survey, conducted between 19 and 23 December and covering nearly 500 children, found that more than half of those assessed were acutely malnourished.

New data from UNICEF’s latest SMART nutrition survey has revealed an alarming level of child malnutrition in Um Baru locality, in Sudan’s North Darfur, underscoring the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation facing children caught in conflict.

The survey, conducted between 19 and 23 December and covering nearly 500 children, found that more than half of those assessed were acutely malnourished. The Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM) rate reached 53 per cent, while 18 per cent of children were suffering from Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) — a life-threatening condition that can lead to death within weeks if left untreated. An additional 35 per cent of children were found to have Moderate Acute Malnutrition (MAM).

These figures place Um Baru among the worst-affected areas globally, with malnutrition rates more than three times higher than the World Health Organization’s emergency threshold of 15 per cent for GAM.

“When severe acute malnutrition reaches this level, time becomes the most critical factor,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. “Children in Um Baru are fighting for their lives and need immediate help. Every day without safe and unhindered access increases the risk of children growing weaker and dying from causes that are entirely preventable.”

Rising Mortality and Displacement

The survey also found that the crude mortality rate has reached emergency levels, highlighting the immediate and deadly risks facing children in the locality.

Many residents of Um Baru are recently displaced families who fled intensified fighting in Al Fasher in late October. Among them are large numbers of children who have missed routine immunizations, including against measles and other vaccine-preventable diseases, leaving them especially vulnerable to illness and death.

Access Constraints Worsen the Crisis

The unfolding crisis is being compounded by escalating insecurity, which has severely restricted humanitarian access. Ongoing fighting has delayed the delivery and scale-up of life-saving assistance, despite the urgent needs on the ground.

North Darfur remains at the epicentre of Sudan’s malnutrition emergency. By November alone, nearly 85,000 severely malnourished children had been admitted for treatment across the state. While UNICEF has prepositioned critical supplies such as Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF), the scale of the crisis demands far more comprehensive health and nutrition services, including clean water, medical care and disease prevention.

Call for Immediate Humanitarian Access

UNICEF is urging all parties to the conflict to allow immediate, safe and unhindered humanitarian access so that life-saving assistance can reach children and their families trapped by violence.

Without a predictable and respected humanitarian pause, aid workers cannot safely deliver food, clean water, medical care or protection services. As a result, children continue to bear the heaviest burden of the conflict.

UNICEF is also calling on the international community — particularly states with influence over the parties to the conflict — to urgently intensify diplomatic and political efforts to secure and uphold a humanitarian pause. Without swift action, preventable deaths among children will continue to rise.