Every minute on average, 8 people have been displaced from their homes in Sudan. This is 11,000 people every single day. Over 1,000 days, nearly 12 million people have been displaced – roughly equivalent to the entire population of Belgium – and one fifth of the population.
Mohamed Abdiladif, Country Director for Save the Children in Sudan, said:
“For 1,000 days, a brutal conflict has engulfed Sudan, shattering families, destroying communities, and stealing the futures of an entire generation of children.
“Sudan’s children are paying the highest price. They are suffering unimaginable hardship. They are being killed in their homes, in health centres, in schools, in kindergartens – places that should be safe. They are being raped in horrifying numbers, including some just months old. They are being terrorised, starved, and forced to flee over and over again, living an unending nightmare.
“Today, Sudan is facing the world's largest internal displacement crisis, and children make up the majority of those affected. Every minute on average, 8 people have been displaced from their homes. This is 11,000 people every single day. Over 1,000 days, nearly 12 million people have been displaced – roughly equivalent to the entire population of Belgium – and one fifth of the population. More than five million children have been displaced. Behind every statistic, is a child who has lost their home, their education, and often their family.
“Displacement in Sudan means living in a squalid camp or a crowded hut, battling to get the most basic of resources, unsure of where your next meal will come from, or whether you will sleep safely overnight. This is not survival. It is hell.
“We sometimes wonder that if the crisis in Sudan had occurred a decade ago, would the world have given it more of a thought? Have we, the international community, lost our moral compass, our compassion, our sense of indignation when such atrocities can be committed against children, women and families, at such scale? The silence is devastating - and it is failing Sudan’s children.
“For the sake of the children of Sudan, and for my colleagues who work day in day out often at their own personal peril to support them, I believe we are better than this. We can and should act now for Sudan. We urge donors to allocate resources to support displaced families and urge leaders and negotiators to come to an agreement for peace in the country. Sudan must be free from war and allowed to rebuild. Sudan’s children deserve a future.”
