One in five children from Sudan forced to flee by ongoing violence

One in five children in South Sudan has been forced to flee their home due to the ongoing violence. And according to the latest UN data, children make 62% of the more than 1.8 million refugees from South Sudan.

One in five children in South Sudan has been forced to flee due to the violence of the ongoing conflict. It is estimated that more than one million children have been displaced form the war ravaged country. The latest UN estimates show that children make up 62% of the more than 1.8 million refugees form South Sudan.

“The horrifying fact that nearly one in five children in South Sudan has been forced to flee their home illustrates how devastating this conflict has been for the country’s most vulnerable,” said Leila Pakkala, UNICEF’s Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa. “Add this to the more than one million children who are also displaced within South Sudan, and the future of a generation is truly on the brink.”

The numbers paint a depressing picture of just what the South Sudan conflict will mean for the next generations. And while officials declare themselves worried about the prospects, they call for urgent action in order to redress the situation and help the most vulnerable of refugees.

“No refugee crisis today worries me more than South Sudan,” said Valentin Tapsoba, UNHCR’s Africa Bureau Director. “That refugee children are becoming the defining face of this emergency is incredibly troubling. We, all in the humanitarian community, need most urgent, committed and sustainable support to be able to save their lives.”

Violence broke out in South Sudan back in 2012 and since then, according to UN reports, more than one thousand children have been killed or injured. The number of children being displaced form the moment the conflict first erupted has reached 1.14 million children.

The ongoing crisis has also caused South Sudan to register the highest proportion of out-of-school children in the world. Nearly three quarters of the country’s children are out of school.

Children are having to deal with trauma, physical upheaval, fear and stress and they are always at risk of recruitment by armed forces and groups and, with traditional social structures damaged, they are also increasingly vulnerable to violence, sexual abuse and exploitation.

Many of the children tried to find safety in neighboring countries. More than 75,000 refugee children in Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Sudan and DRC have crossed South Sudan’s borders either unaccompanied or separated from their families.

But the path to a normal life is hindered by environmental conditions. The lack of proper shelter puts refugees at risk especially during the rainy season with children having to face illness and starvation and lacking medical care.

The UN is asking for $781.8 million in order to address the most pressing issues that South Sudan refugees are having to face. They need proper shelters, food, education and medical care but the UN says that only about 11% of the needed funds have been raised so far.

Unicef is also having issues when it comes to getting the funding they need in order to provide urgent medical care for refugees coming in form South Sudan. Form the $181 million that Unicef has been asking for in order to keep helping citizens fleeing the war, only about 50% has been funded.