UNICEF Says on November 10 That an Estimated 825,000 Children Under 5 in Sudan Are Expected to Suffer Severe Acute Malnutrition in 2026, as Drone Strikes on Power Stations Continue
Geneva — James Elder, speaking for the United Nations Children's Fund, said in Geneva on November 10 that drones and drought were closing in on Sudan's children from both sides, in an assault unlike anything seen in Sudan's history.
Elder said that in the last week of October, not a single day had passed without an armed drone striking a power station in Sudan. At the same time, damage by El Niño had already begun, and the planting window for the 2026 to 2027 cereal harvest had closed, so late rains would not undo the damage done.
When a power station was struck, water pumps and water treatment stopped, he said, families were forced onto expensive and unsafe alternatives, and the cold storage that kept vaccines and medicines viable was also threatened.
An estimated 825,000 children under 5 in Sudan were expected to suffer from severe acute malnutrition in 2026. Elder said two in three child casualties had been caused by drones, which were bringing war to places that used to be safe.
UNICEF and partners had treated hundreds of thousands of children for the deadliest form of malnutrition, had helped provide healthcare to more than 2.5 million people, and had vaccinated millions of children against deadly diseases, he said, but UNICEF's response in Sudan was only one third funded.
UNICEF called for an end to violence against children and to attacks on power stations, water systems and civilian infrastructure, for those with influence to stop the flow of weapons killing and injuring children, and for sustained funding to keep essential services running.
Answering questions, Elder said Sudan had never before seen attacks on power stations every other day for an entire month, and that drones made it impossible for people to earn an income, to move, or to afford fuel or crop irrigation.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
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