More than 8 million children miss school in Sudan: aid group

According to a report by Save The Children, more than eight million children in Sudan – which makes up roughly half of the population of school-age children – are out of education due to Sudan’s conflict, reported Reuters on January 22nd.

Sudan’s military and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been in a power struggle since April 2023. The report said that only 3% of schools are operating in North Darfur, and that areas within West Kordofan, South Darfur, and West Darfur have also been significantly impacted. Many schools are damaged or used as shelters for displaced families. Teachers have also had to leave their work due to a lack of payment.

Inger Ashing, the CEO of Save the Children International, stressed the importance of education in preventing the future generation from joining armed groups.

“Without immediate funding to pay and train teachers, restore learning spaces, and provide essential learning supplies, the education system risks total breakdown,” the organisation said.

According to the report, over eight million Sudanese children have missed around 500 days of their education since the outbreak of the conflict in 2023. Ashing said: “That is more than any child missed during the COVID pandemic.” Save the Children stressed that the situation in Sudan is one of the worst education crises in the world.

Children are among the most vulnerable and affected during conflicts, with UNICEF estimating that over five million children have been displaced from their homes in Sudan. Children have also been subjected to targeted violence, with RSF strikes allegedly targeting kindergartens to kill a large number of children.

Many minors have also been victims of rape as a tactic of war, as the UN estimated that more than 200 children have faced sexual violence since 2024 in Sudan. UNICEF has reportedly worked towards providing child support and reunited 200 displaced children with their families, yet some areas like Kordofan and North Darfur have been hard to reach for aid workers.

While the Sudanese military returned to Khartoum on January 11th, RSF strikes continue to escalate the conflict. The humanitarian situation in Sudan worsens every day, with the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reporting that 8.4 million people require urgent nutritional assistance in 2026, of which, 5 million are children, and 3.4 million are pregnant or breastfeeding women.

“Right now the international community is failing the children of Sudan,” added Ashing.

Reuters, Maghrebi.org