Three babies born into Sudan war every minute, charity warns

Sudanese children are being born into conditions ‘no child should ever face’, Save the Children says.At least three babies a minute are being born in Sudan into conditions “no child should ever face”, an international charity has warned, as a ruinous conflict between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) hits its third-year mark.Save the Children said on Tuesday that official data showed 5.6 million births in Sudan since the start of the war in April 2023, meaning that 5,000 children a day are born in a country where millions are surviving on just one meal a day.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Millions in war-ravaged Sudan surviving on one meal a day, say NGOslist 2 of 3Humanitarian situation in Sudan at ‘catastrophic levels’, says NGOlist 3 of 3Drone strike on Sudan hospital kills 10, medical charity MSF saysend of list“These children are born in overcrowded shelters, under-equipped or damaged health facilities, or while their families are on the move,” said Mohamed Abdiladif, country director for Save the Children in Sudan.“Children have a right to receive care and protection, even in conflict,” he added.On April 15, 2023, a rivalry between Sudan’s army chief, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the commander of the RSF, Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo, exploded into a war that quickly spread across the country.Since then, the fighting has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced some 12 million, and spawned the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, according to the United Nations.Both sides have been accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity, while the RSF has been implicated in atrocities in the vast Darfur region that UN experts say bear the hallmarks of genocide.Sudan’s healthcare pushed to the edgeWidespread violence and attacks on civilian infrastructure have strained the country’s already fragile healthcare system, placing millions of mothers and newborns at deadly risk, Save the Children said.