According to Save the Children, more than three-quarters of school-aged children and adolescents in Sudan—a nation devastated by conflict—are currently not enrolled in school, with many increasingly unlikely to ever complete their studies.
A recent study conducted by the NGO reveals that out of 17 million children eligible for schooling, 13 million are not receiving an education. This number includes approximately seven million students who are registered in schools but lack access to education due to the ongoing conflict or displacement, as well as another six million who are entirely unregistered.
Since April 2023, Sudan has been embroiled in a war between the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The conflict has led to tens of thousands of deaths, displaced millions of individuals, and devastated the country’s infrastructure, including schools and hospitals.
“Education is so easily dismissed in a crisis as a lower priority, but as a conflict drags on, children’s core learning years pass by – years they can never get back. For some this will mean never finishing high school, for others this will mean never learning to read or write. In all cases the impact is devastating,” said Mohamed Abdiladif, Country Director of Save the Children in Sudan.
“If the conflict continues, millions of these children will not be able to go back to school, leaving them exposed to immediate and long-term dangers, including displacement, recruitment into armed groups and sexual violence,” he warned.
The United Nations reports that Sudan is experiencing one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world, with nearly 10 million people forcibly displaced within the country and four million having sought refuge abroad.
