‘Sudan is losing another generation’ to war, Mohammed warns

More than 1,000 days of war in Sudan have left eight million school-aged children out of classrooms, the UN Deputy Secretary-General told the Security Council on Friday. Amina Mohammed highlighted that displaced children, particularly those who fled to neighboring countries, face the greatest barriers to education. In Darfur, nearly three-quarters of schools have been damaged or destroyed since April 2023, leaving five out of six children without access to learning. Parents, she noted, often keep children at home due to safety concerns, further deepening the educational crisis.

The UN has verified 67 attacks on schools in Sudan since 2024, with over 154 instances of military use of educational facilities reported. These attacks deprive children of safe spaces, peer interaction, and essential services like school meals and healthcare. More than half of Sudan’s teachers remain unpaid, yet many continue teaching despite the challenges. Mohammed emphasized that the conflict disproportionately harms girls, whose education is often the first to be disrupted in crises.

This year, the UN and partners have managed to re-enroll over a million Sudanese children in some form of learning, but the scale of the crisis far exceeds these efforts. Mohammed stressed that the war’s consequences are borne by women and children, who had no role in starting it. She called for urgent action to end the conflict and restore peace, warning that Sudan risks losing an entire generation if the violence persists.

Mohammed urged Security Council members to prioritize ending the war and creating conditions for peace, emphasizing education as both lifesaving and transformative. She noted that Sudan’s children have endured 1,210 days of war without access to education and should not face further delays. The UN Deputy Secretary-General called for collective action to protect children’s futures and rebuild the foundations for stability and recovery.