The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has sounded the alarm over Sudan’s worsening education crisis, revealing that 14 million school-aged children are currently deprived of schooling due to the country’s escalating conflict and humanitarian collapse.

In a newly released report, UNICEF estimated that 14 million of Sudan’s 17 million school-aged children are not attending school, with the situation particularly dire in the Darfur and Kordofan regions—areas hardest hit by ongoing violence and displacement.

The organization warned that the education system is on the brink of total collapse, as millions of children are unable to access classrooms, teachers, or learning materials amid widespread insecurity and damage to infrastructure.

UNICEF also highlighted severe funding shortfalls, noting that 62% of its $1 billion response plan remains unfunded. The agency’s appeal aims to provide vital assistance in child protection, education, health, nutrition, water, sanitation, and cash support.

According to the report, UNICEF plans to reach 13.1 million people, including 8.7 million children, across Sudan, where overlapping crises—disease outbreaks, food insecurity, and flooding—have deepened the suffering of civilians.

The agency warned that unless urgent funding and humanitarian access are secured, Sudan risks losing an entire generation of children to war, poverty, and illiteracy.

Sudan’s civil conflict, which erupted in April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), has forced millions to flee their homes, leaving schools destroyed or occupied by displaced families. UNICEF and other aid agencies continue to call for an immediate ceasefire and unhindered access to deliver lifesaving assistance to the country’s most vulnerable populations. (ILKHA)