UNICEF warns of a severe child malnutrition crisis in North Darfur, Sudan, with over half of surveyed children acutely malnourished and urgent humanitarian access needed to prevent further deaths.
New data from UNICEF’s latest SMART survey in Um Baru, North Darfur, Sudan, reveals a critical malnutrition crisis, with over half of the children assessed found to be acutely malnourished. Among them, one in six is suffering from severe acute malnutrition (SAM), a life-threatening condition that can be fatal within weeks if untreated.
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The nutrition survey, conducted between 19 and 23 December and screening nearly 500 children, reported a Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM) rate of 53 per cent, including 18 per cent with SAM and 35 per cent with moderate acute malnutrition (MAM). These figures represent some of the highest malnutrition rates recorded in a standardized nutrition survey globally, exceeding the World Health Organization’s emergency threshold of 15 per cent by more than three times.
“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 more death and suffering from causes that are entirely preventable.”
The crude mortality rate in the locality has reached emergency levels, underscoring the immediate threat to children’s lives. Many affected families are recently internally displaced, having fled escalating conflict in Al Fasher in late October. Numerous children have not received vaccinations for measles or other preventable diseases, making them particularly vulnerable.
Escalating insecurity in the area has severely restricted humanitarian access, delaying life-saving assistance. Continued fighting is impeding the scale-up of critical health and nutrition services.
North Darfur remains at the epicenter of Sudan’s malnutrition crisis, with nearly 85,000 severely malnourished children admitted for treatment in the state by November 2025. UNICEF has prepositioned essential supplies, including Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF), but comprehensive health and nutrition support is urgently needed to address the scale of the emergency.
UNICEF called on all parties to allow immediate, safe, and unhindered humanitarian access to ensure life-saving assistance reaches children and families trapped by conflict. The agency stressed that without a predictable and respected humanitarian pause, aid workers cannot safely deliver food, clean water, medical care, or protection services, leaving children to bear the heaviest burden. UNICEF urged the international community, including states with influence over the parties to the conflict, to intensify diplomatic and political efforts to secure and enforce a humanitarian pause.
