'Alarming' signs of starvation among Sudanese children, warns NGO

Sudanese children are showing signs of starvation as the country's famine worsens amid a continued civil war, threatening the lives of thousands, according to a report by Save the Children on Tuesday.

Nationwide surveys found that 19 localities in nine of Sudan's 18 states were seeing global acute malnutrition (GAM) rates exceeding 30 percent for children under five, effectively meaning starvation, the report said.

Around two million people residing in these locations were in dire need of food to survive, the report said, with Save the Children describing the deterioration as "alarming".

"More than half of these surveys showed over 20 percent of children experiencing acute malnutrition, with the highest morbidity prevalence recorded at 74.2 percent," the report said.

The charity estimates that 26.5 million people in Sudan, around half the country's population, are in need of aid.

Mohamed Abdiladif, the Interim Country Director for Save the Children in Sudan, said that the malnutrition rates for children under 5 are some of the highest in the world.

"Spiraling GAM rates is the last signal that small babies will pay the biggest price in this conflict," Abdiladif said.

He called on the international community to do more to end the war, calling for an immediate ceasefire and further funding to alleviate the ongoing famines across Sudan.

It comes as fighting intensified between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) escalated.

According to the Emergency Response Room, a youth-led volunteer group that monitors the war, recent clashes between the two sides have killed at least 70 people, with an SAF airstrike killing at least 20 in the capital Khartoum.

As well as renewed offensives in Khartoum, the SAF and RSF have been fighting in West Darfur where a famine was declared at the Zamzam displacement camp.

A panel of UN experts have recently accused both sides of using "starvation tactics" throughout the war.

Heavy fighting has also been reported south of Khartoum in what was previously a breadbasket for the country.

Tens of thousands have been killed in the war, which has been ongoing since fighting broke out between the rival military forces in April 2023. Around 11 million people have also been displaced.