Tag Archives: suffer

Sudan: As children continue to suffer, school remains a distant hope

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After more than two years of civil war, more than 25 million people are now acutely hungry and at least 20 million require health services urgently.

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) also warned that displaced families in some areas have not received any aid for three months, as it announced that for the first time, funding shortfalls have forced it to pull back support in areas where it does not have access.

“The scale of needs in Sudan are so big that we have to make tough decisions on who receives assistance and who doesn’t. Those are heartbreaking decisions to make,” said WFP’s Leni Kinzli, in an urgent appeal for more international funding to help all those affected by more than two years of war.

Children are especially vulnerable, humanitarians have warned, with malnutrition “surging”, particularly among youngsters and their mothers.

Education the latest victim

According to the UN reproductive health agency UNFPA, and partners working in education, around 13 million of the 17 million youngsters who have remained in Sudan are now out of school.

This includes seven million who are enrolled but unable to attend classes because of the conflict or displacement – plus six million school-age children who haven’t registered for the school year.

Nonetheless, UNFPA said that as of this month, 45 per cent of schools in Sudan – nearly 9,000 – have now re-opened, citing the Global Education Cluster that groups 60 UN and NGO entities.

And while the situation in Sudan remains so dire, going back to school might not appear to be a priority, but aid agencies insist that without it the impact on young lives can be devastating, given how much additional support can be provided in schools, over and above learning.

In schools helped to reopen by UN-partner Save The Children, for instance, additional support includes meals, safe water, sanitation and counselling training for teachers to help youngsters process their trauma.

Picking up the pieces

From November 2024 to July this year, more than two million people have returned to their former homes across Sudan, to some 1,611 locations.

The bulk of these returnees have reached Aj Jazirah (48 per cent), Khartoum (30 per cent), Sennar (nine per cent), Blue Nile (seven per cent) and White Nile (five per cent). The UN migration agency (IOM)’s Displacement Tracking Matrix notes that only around one per cent went to River Nile and West Darfur.

A breakdown of IOM data indicates that around 77 per cent (or 1.5 million) returned from temporary homes inside Sudan, while 23 per cent (around 455,000) came back from abroad.

This is a fraction of the more than 4.2 million refugees who crossed into neighbouring countries since war erupted on 15 April 2023, between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Other key IOM findings of Sudanese displacement impacting all 18 states:

  • When war erupted, people were uprooted primarily from Khartoum (31 per cent), South Darfur (21 per cent), and North Darfur (20 per cent).   
  • The highest proportion of internally displaced people were in South Darfur (19 per cent), North Darfur (18 per cent), and Central Darfur (10 per cent).
  • Over half (53 per cent) of those fleeing violence were reportedly children.

Case study: Life slipping away

Among the young victims of the conflict, 18-month-old Aysha Jebrellah has been admitted for treatment for severe acute malnutrition in Port Sudan Paediatric Hospital.

Her mother, Aziza, has been by her daughter’s side as medical teams provide lifesaving nutritional support and address the medical complications that Aysha has suffered, linked to her condition.

Aziza was displaced with her family from Khartoum when conflict erupted more than two years ago, fleeing first to Kassala, then moving to Port Sudan where she lives with relatives.

She described how her daughter had diarrhoea and fever for about two weeks before she was admitted to hospital. By that time she had stopped eating and appeared to be slipping away before their eyes.

“When she refused to even taste anything and kept getting weaker, I was afraid I would lose her,” Aziza says. “Now I have hope that she will recover.”

To support health needs in Sudan, the UN World Health Organization (WHO)’s $135 million appeal is just one-fifth funded. “It’s only a fraction of what is urgently needed,” the agency said.

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Reporters in Gaza bear witness and suffer tragic consequences

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Mr. Shahada lost his leg due to a severe injury he suffered in Nuseirat in central Gaza in April 2024, but he picked up his camera and returned to document the tragic events that have been unfolding in Gaza.

He will not let his disability stop him from working. “It is impossible for me to leave photojournalism, even if I face all these obstacles,” he said.

Ahead of World Press Freedom Day marked annually on 3 May which focuses on the role of media to highlight accountability, justice, equality, and human rights, our UN News correspondent in Gaza spoke with Palestinian journalists, documenting the risks and personal traumas they face reporting from the war-torn enclave.

© UNICEF/Mohammed Nateel

War has devastated Gaza.

Since the war began following the 7 October 2023 attack by Hamas on Israel an increasing number of journalists have been killed or injured in Gaza as a humanitarian crisis has engulfed the enclave.

Bearing witness

On one leg, leaning on crutches, Sami Shahada stands behind his camera, wearing his blue press jacket, working amongst the rubble of destruction with colleagues.

“I witnessed all the crimes that happened, and then the moment came when I was a witness to a crime that was perpetrated against me,” he told UN News.

Sami Shehadeh looks at a video of the moment he was injured in Gaza in April 2024.

“I was a field journalist, carrying a camera in an open area and wearing a helmet and a jacket which identified me as a journalist, yet I was directly targeted.”

That incident marked a turning point in his life. “I did not need help from anyone before, now I need help,” adding that “I have the determination and persistence to overcome this new reality. This is how we journalists must work in Gaza.”

Working the streets

Journalist Mohammed Abu Namous is another of these journalists.

Filming with one of his colleagues in the rubble of a destroyed building in Gaza City he said: “While the world celebrates World Press Freedom Day, Palestinian journalists remember their workplaces which were destroyed in the war.”

“The minimum we need to carry out our journalistic work is electricity and the internet, but many do not have this, so we resort to commercial shops that provide the internet. The streets are now our offices.”

Palestinian journalist Mohammed Abu Namous and his colleague cover the impact of the war in Gaza.

He believes that Palestinian journalists have been targeted during the Israeli occupation of Gaza and said that media workers must be protected “whether they work in Palestine or elsewhere in the world.”

Voices not silenced by death of loved ones

Journalist Moamen Sharafi said he lost members of his family in an Israeli bombing in northern Gaza, but despite “the many negative impacts on a personal, social, and humanitarian level, professionally nothing has changed.”

He was determined to carry on working, he explained, as he was due to live broadcast from the streets of Gaza City.

Palestinian journalist, Moamen Sharafi (right,) lost several family members during the current war that started in October 2023.

“We have become more determined to continue our work and uphold our professional values and perform our mission with humanity to the world,” he continued, “in order to convey the reality of what is happening on the ground inside Gaza, specifically the humanitarian situation, and the impact on children, women and the elderly who suffer greatly.”

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Depression and early old age go hand-in-hand, finds study

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Amid increasing instances of depression among the celebrities, common people and even teenagers, psychologists at the University of Sussex have come up with a new dimension to the alarming mental health issue saying the brain ages faster when people undergo frequent depression.

Depression is the leading cause of mental ill health across the world with more than 300 million people suffering from it with an estimated increase of more than 18% between 2005 and 2015, according to World Health Organization (WHO).

Earlier studies found that people with depression or anxiety have an increased risk of dementia in later life, leading to decline in overall cognitive function. The new study extrapolates it to showcase a direct link with early old age as well. Dementia is expected to grow substantially over the next 30 years.

After a review of 34 longitudinal studies, with data available from 71,000 participants, the study measured the rate of decline of overall cognitive state resulting in memory loss, poor decision making and slow information processing in older adults. It has excluded dementia as past studies have already established its link with old age.

The study found that people with depression faced imminent and greater decline in cognitive functions inold age than those without depression.

Lead researchers Darya Gaysina and Amber John from the EDGE Lab at the University of Sussex have stressed on dealing with depression effectively since the implications at a later stage may prove irreversible.

“This study is of great importance – our populations are ageing at a rapid rate and the number of people living with decreasing cognitive abilities,” said Gaysina.

Amber John, who carried out this research for her PhD at the University of Sussex adds: “People living with depression shouldn’t despair – it’s not inevitable that you will see a greater decline in cognitive abilities and taking preventative measures.”

Some of the preventive measures she suggested include regular exercising, practicing mindfulness and undertaking recommended therapeutic treatments, such as Cognitive Behaviour Therapy.

The study was published in the journal Psychological Medicine.

What WHO says on Depression?

Depression is different from usual mood fluctuations and short-lived emotional responses to daily life-style challenges. It reflects in symptoms ranging from depressed mood, loss of interest and enjoyment, and reduced energy levels for at least two weeks.

Some of them may even experience anxiety, disturbed sleep and loss of appetite, feelings of guilt or low self-esteem, poor concentration and even medically unexplained symptoms.

At its worst, depression can lead to suicide. Close to 800,000 people die due to suicide every year. Suicide is the second leading cause of death among youngsters between 15 and 29 years of age. Seeking early medical intervention is a must in such cases.