While the armed conflict in Sudan enters a new year without a prospect of resolution, another crisis, quieter but just as deadly, is gaining momentum. Malaria, already one of the main causes of infant mortality in the country, proliferates in a devastated Health system.
UNICEF alerts a dramatic health emergency, aggravated by the collapse of infrastructure. Massive displacements of populations and lack of access to care still amplifies the crisis. In the middle of the rainy season, millions of children are today threatened by this avoidable disease.
A health system on the verge of collapse
The current conflict has seriously weakened the Sudanese health system. Less than 25 % of establishments operate in the most affected areas. The displaced populations pile up in overcrowded camps, deprived of drinking water, sanitation and basic care. Under these conditions, prevention of malaria becomes almost impossible. The mosquito nets are rare, the treatments difficult to access, and the structures capable of diagnosing the disease are becoming increasingly rare.
Alarming and probably underestimated figures
In 2023, more than 1.3 million cases of malaria were recorded in Sudan, which resulted in more than 850 deaths. These figures, taken from the last world report on malaria, are most likely below reality. Data transmission difficulties in a country ravaged by fighting complicate the precise assessment of the situation. Children, especially those under the age of five, pay the heaviest price. They represent more than 22 % of the cases identified and 16 % of deaths. It is estimated that three million of them are exposed to a high risk of epidemic diseases, of which malaria remains one of the deadliest plagues.
Humanitarian initiatives in the face of a vital emergency
Despite the extreme conditions, UNICEF, in partnership with the Sudanese Ministry of Health, the World Fund and Gavi, tries to maintain an emergency health response. Mosquito nets impregnated with insecticide, diagnostic kits and antimalarial treatments are distributed. Vaccination, on the other hand, advances slowly but surely. In October 2024, 186,000 doses of antimalarial vaccines arrived in the country. Since then, more than 148,000 children have already benefited in two pilot states. By 2026, this campaign will be extended to 129 localities.
The call to the international community
UNICEF calls for an urgent and reinforced commitment to the international community. The organization insists on the need to invest massively to strengthen local health systems, ensure the continuity of prevention campaigns and guarantee universal access to care. Faced with a health crisis which is coupled with an armed conflict, the humanitarian response can only be collective and immediate.
