The number of children suffering acute malnutrition in North Darfur, a state in western Sudan where fierce fighting is raging, has doubled compared to 2024, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned today.

In Sudan, a war has been raging since mid-April 2023 between the regular army and paramilitaries of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), in which tens, if not hundreds of thousands of people have died and more than 14 million others have become internally displaced or refugees.

North Darfur state and its capital El Fasher, under siege by the DTOs, have been hit hard by the fighting and a state of famine was declared last year in three IDP camps near the city.

In a statement released today, UNICEF highlights that more than 40,000 children suffering from extreme acute malnutrition in North Darfur state received treatment between January and May this year, double the number of children treated in the same period in 2024.

“Darfur’s children are starving because of the conflict and are cut off from the help that could save them,” said Sheldon Yett, UNICEF’s representative in Sudan.

Across the five states in the vast Darfur region, cases of extreme acute malnutrition increased by 46% in the first five months of the year compared to the same period in 2024.

El Fasher is the only state capital in Darfur that has not yet fallen into the hands of the DSS, despite being under siege since May 2024.

Hospitals have been destroyed due to bombings, humanitarian aid convoys have been targeted and access to aid is now almost entirely blocked.

The UN reported this week that nearly 40% of children under five in El Fasher are suffering acute malnutrition, 11% extreme acute malnutrition.

UNICEF has also reported frightening increases in malnutrition in other areas where hostilities have recently unfolded.

Extreme acute malnutrition increased by more than 70% in neighbouring North Kordofan state, by 174% in the capital Khartoum region, and nearly sevenfold in Al Jazeera state (central) during the first five months of the year, compared to the same period in 2024.