Hunger Still Blights the Lives of Sudan's Children

File photo: South Sudanese refugees. Reuters file photo
File photo: South Sudanese refugees. Reuters file photo
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Hunger Still Blights the Lives of Sudan's Children

File photo: South Sudanese refugees. Reuters file photo
File photo: South Sudanese refugees. Reuters file photo

In Sudan's sprawling Kalma camp for the displaced, Ansaf Omar lives with the gut-wrenching guilt of losing her toddler to a food crisis that has hit millions of people nationwide.

"I am severely malnourished so I couldn't breastfeed him," said Omar, 34, a month after her one-and-half-year-old child died in Kalma camp just outside Nyala, the provincial capital of South Darfur state, AFP said.

"I took him everywhere -- hospitals, treatment centers, but he died in the end," she said.

Desperate mothers like Omar battle daily around Kalma to feed their frail and hungry children, many of whom are severely malnourished.

Sudan is one of the world's poorest countries, with one-third of the population -- at least 15 million people -- facing a growing hunger crisis, according to United Nations figures.

Nearly three million of Sudan's children under the age of five are acutely malnourished, the UN says.

"Over 100,000 children in Sudan are at risk of dying of malnutrition if left untreated," said Leni Kinzli, head of communications in the country for the World Food Program (WFP).

Nationwide, one-third of children under five are "too short for their age", and nearly half of Sudan's 189 localities have a "stunting prevalence more significant than 40 percent", according to the Alight aid group.

It said that at least 63 children were reported to have died from causes related to malnutrition at Alight facilities in and around Kalma in 2022.

Sudan grappled with chronic hardships under the regime of Omar al-Bashir, who was ousted in 2019. His three-decade rule was marked by internal conflicts, government mismanagement and punishing international sanctions.

- Bouts of violence -
The restive Darfur region was the scene of a bitter civil war that broke out in 2003, pitting ethnic African minority rebels against Bashir's government in Khartoum.

Economic troubles deepened following the Covid-19 pandemic and a 2021 military coup which derailed a post-Bashir transition and triggered cuts to crucial international aid.

Some 65 percent of Sudan's people live under the poverty line, according to a 2020 UN report.

Food insecurity is not new to the residents of Kalma, Darfur's largest camp and home to some 120,000 people displaced since the 2003 conflict erupted in the country's arid western region.

But residents say conditions have worsened as economic hardships kept rising and sporadic bouts of deadly violence continued.

Alight's nutrition centers in Kalma saw a "dramatic increase on admissions to and demand on its emergency nutrition services" in 2022, according to the group's country director, Heidi Diedrich.

"Kalma stabilization center newly admitted 863 children in 2022, an increase of 71 percent from 2021," according to Alight.

"The number of deaths at the stabilization center increased by 231 percent in 2022, all children aged six months and above."

Outside one nutrition center in Kalma, 38-year-old Hawa Suleiman cradled her sleeping infant, hoping to find food for the child.

"We have nothing at home. We sometimes go to sleep hungry," she said.

- Lack of funding -
In recent years the WFP has halved food rations for internally displaced people in Kalma "due to funding constraints", said Kinzli.

The lack of funding -- in part due to global economic decline following Covid-19 and the Ukraine crisis -- coupled with rising humanitarian needs puts the WFP in "an impossible situation where we have to choose who receives support and who does not –- it's heartbreaking".

The UN has reported a 35 percent deficiency in the production of sorghum -- a staple food in Sudan -- during the 2021-2022 harvest season.

Nouralsham Ibrahim, 30, says she could no longer rely on aid to feed her five children.

"We try to make some money working the fields outside the camp, but it barely covers one day," she said.

"Even the bread is too expensive."

For others like Omar, venturing out of the camp in the troubled Darfur region, where ethnic violence still breaks out sporadically, is risky and rarely worth it.

"We are not left in peace when we get out to work," said the woman who makes just 500 Sudanese pounds ($0.85) a day when she works in the fields.

"Women and girls get raped... and men get killed."

The Darfur conflict -- which left 300,000 people killed and 2.5 million displaced -- may have largely subsided but ethnic violence can still break out over access to water, land or cattle.

In 2022, clashes killed nearly 1,000 people in the country, including in the Darfur region, according to the UN.

"We are very tired," said Ibrahim. "We scramble here and there to get food but we need help."



Syria Joins a Donor Conference for the First Time in a Crucial Phase for Its New Leaders

EU High Representative and Vice-President for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas (C), Syria's interim Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani (C-R), Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi (C-L) and representatives pose for a family picture on the sidelines of the Brussels IX Conference “Standing with Syria: meeting the needs for a successful transition”, at the Europa Building in Brussels on March 17, 2025. (AFP)
EU High Representative and Vice-President for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas (C), Syria's interim Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani (C-R), Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi (C-L) and representatives pose for a family picture on the sidelines of the Brussels IX Conference “Standing with Syria: meeting the needs for a successful transition”, at the Europa Building in Brussels on March 17, 2025. (AFP)
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Syria Joins a Donor Conference for the First Time in a Crucial Phase for Its New Leaders

EU High Representative and Vice-President for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas (C), Syria's interim Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani (C-R), Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi (C-L) and representatives pose for a family picture on the sidelines of the Brussels IX Conference “Standing with Syria: meeting the needs for a successful transition”, at the Europa Building in Brussels on March 17, 2025. (AFP)
EU High Representative and Vice-President for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas (C), Syria's interim Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani (C-R), Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi (C-L) and representatives pose for a family picture on the sidelines of the Brussels IX Conference “Standing with Syria: meeting the needs for a successful transition”, at the Europa Building in Brussels on March 17, 2025. (AFP)

International donors gathered on Monday in a show of support for Syria, hoping to encourage the new leaders of the conflict-ravaged country toward a peaceful political transition following the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad in December.

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani attended the conference — the ninth of its kind — in a first for a top official from Damascus.

But the United States, one of Syria’s top donors, wasn’t expected to offer assistance as the Trump administration is reviewing all foreign aid. It contributed almost $1.2 billion to Syria and the region last year.

Ministers and representatives from Western partners, Syria’s regional neighbors, other Arab countries and UN agencies also attended the one-day meeting in Brussels, organized in haste by the European Union amid change sweeping the country.

Opening the meeting, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that the EU was increasing its pledge to Syrians in the country and the region to almost 2.5 billion euros ($2.7 billion) for 2025 and 2026.

“We call on all of you who are here today to do the same, if possible, because at this critical time, the people of Syria need us more than ever,” von der Leyen said.

Syria's new leaders are trying to consolidate control over territory that was divided into de facto mini-states during nearly 14 years of civil war, and to rebuild the economy and infrastructure. The United Nations has estimated that it would cost at least $250 billion to rebuild Syria, while experts say that could reach at least $400 billion.

At the same time, Western governments are cutting back on aid spending, in part to use in defense budgets.

“We will give more, but we cannot fill the gap left by the US,” EU Crisis Management Commissioner Hadja Lahbib told reporters. "We will need to share the burden.”

Security concerns are also making donors hesitate. Earlier this month, an ambush on a Syrian security patrol by gunmen loyal to Assad triggered clashes. Some factions allied with the new government launched sectarian revenge attacks — primarily targeting Assad’s Alawite minority sect — that monitoring groups say killed hundreds of civilians over several days.

The EU said that it will only support “a peaceful and inclusive transition, away from malign foreign interference, which guarantees the rights of all Syrians without distinction of any kind.”

The 27-nation bloc has begun to ease energy, transport and financial sector sanctions to encourage the new authorities, but many other Western sanctions remain in place. The EU can reintroduce sanctions if things don’t go to the liking of Western backers.

Syria's foreign minister said that lifting the measures is no longer just a government demand but "a humanitarian and moral necessity.”

"We cannot talk about economic recovery and humanitarian development in Syria while restrictions continue to prevent even the arrival of medical equipment and spare parts to repair damaged hospitals and essential service facilities,” he said.

Syria's economy, infrastructure and institutions are in tatters. As a failed state, it could become another haven for extremists.

Amy Pope, director-general of the International Organization for Migration, urged donors to seize this opportunity to encourage the interim government to move in the right direction.

“It’s critical that countries take advantage of the moment we’re in,” Pope told The Associated Press.

“Of course, we all want to see an inclusive Syria,” she said. “We want to make sure there’s accountability for human rights violations. But the answer is to engage more, not to engage less.”

Syrians have only a few hours of electricity each day. Water supplies are unreliable and often unsafe. Unemployment runs to 80% or 90%. Destruction is widespread.

Many government employees and experts needed to rebuild fled after the 2011 peaceful anti-regime protests were violently quelled by Assad, leading to the conflict.

The UN refugee agency said that last year around 7 million people were displaced in Syria. More than 4.7 million refugees are registered in neighboring countries, most in Türkiye, Lebanon and Jordan.

The German government said that it would pledge around 300 million euros ($326 million) to help deal with the fallout from Syria’s civil war. More than half will be used to help people in Syria, with other funding supporting Syrians and communities elsewhere.

Monday's conference was also focused on meeting Syria’s economic needs. Infrastructure, health and education must be scaled up. Jobs and cash for work programs are needed so that Syrians can start to make a living.