The attack on one of the last operational hospitals in the area elaborated on the ongoing humanitarian crisis of the civil war between rival military, the Sudanese armed forces (SAF) and the paramilitary rapid support forces (RSF), which started in April 2023.
Among the stolen supplies were 2,200 cartons with ready to use therapeutic food — a decisive treatment for children suffering from severe acute malnutrition, a life-threatening condition characterized by severe weight loss and muscle waste.
Also stolen were iron and folic acid supplements for pregnant and nursing women as well as midwifery kits and primary health items intended for mothers, newborns and children.
Attack on their survival
“Stealing life -saving supplies intended for malnourished children is scandalous and a direct attack on their survival“Said Catherine Russell, CEO of UNICEF.
“These unconscious actions against vulnerable children must end. All parties must comply with international humanitarian law, protect civilians and ensure secure and unobstructed humanitarian access to the distressed. “
UNICEF had successfully delivered these supplies on December 20 last year and marked the first humanitarian shipment to Jabal Awlia in over 18 months. However, it is pushing the looting, combined with escalating violence that has forced aid operations to suspend the region’s most vulnerable closer to disaster.
Children pushed closer to disaster
The hospital is located in Jabal Awlia, one of 17 locations at risk of famine.
The region has struggled with a serious lack of food, medicine and other essential things. The fighting has blocked commercial and humanitarian supplies for more than three months, leaving thousands of civilians trapped in the middle of intensified matches.
More than 4,000 people have been forced to flee and further elaborate on the crisis.
Trade humanitarian crisis
In addition to Jabal Awlia, the humanitarian disaster extends over Sudan, where millions are facing life -threatening conditions.
More than 24.6 million people – over half of the population – are facing acute food security, and the collapse of healthcare, the closure of schools and record levels for displacement has created an unprecedented crisis.
In the light of increasing challenges, UNICEF urged all actors to ensure unobstructed humanitarian access to provide assistance, protection of hospitals and civil infrastructure, and security guarantees for auxiliary staff to ensure life -saving assistance can reach them in need.
