Human Rights Group Reports Massive Rise in Malnutrition Across Sudanese Displacement Camps

Malnutrition among children and pregnant women in displacement camps across Darfur has grown exponentially of late, the Sudan Tribune reported on Saturday.

Adam Rijal, a spokesperson for the Coordination for Displaced Persons and Refugees in Darfur, told the newspaper that at least 3.5 million Sudanese children are malnourished based on the World Health Organization’s current estimates. Of those children, at least 700,000 are “severely acutely malnourished.”

Rijal says that while approximately 80% of individuals face food shortages, access to essential supplies like clean water, sanitation materials, and medicine is also severely limited, and conditions are generally horrific.

In multiple camps, there has been a staggering number of child deaths as well as a surge in cases of watery diarrhea and gastrointestinal infections, the aid organization spokesperson revealed.

Darfur, located in Sudan’s westernmost region, was devastated by one of the 21st century’s worst genocides during the 2000s and has once again found itself caught at the center of a devastating civil conflict.

Armed conflict between the government-backed Sudanese Armed Forces and rebel Rapid Support Forces (RSF) first broke out in full in April of 2023 and has since escalated, causing the world’s single largest refugee crisis, according to the United Nations.

Humanitarian organizations such as the UN World Food Program say that despite attempts to get more aid into Darfur, the RSF has sought to prevent deliveries through government-controlled regions.

The US State Department has since accused the former government-aligned RSF of war crimes and crimes against humanity during the ongoing conflict.