Sudan crisis: UNICEF on escalating violence, ignored emergency

CGTN Europe

UNICEF’s Representative to Sudan, Sheldon Yett, spoke to CGTN Europe, describing a dire humanitarian situation in Darfur amid escalating violence and mass displacement. He said UNICEF is working to deliver life-saving aid, including efforts to combat rising cholera cases and repair damaged water systems. Yett emphasized the urgent need for sustained international attention and resources to protect children caught in the conflict and to tackle other endemic diseases. He also expressed concern over the limited global focus on Sudan’s crisis, urging the world “not to look away.”

Transcript

00:00Well, let's talk now to Sheldon Yett, who's from UNICEF, Sudan.

00:04Welcome to the program, Sheldon. Thanks for taking the time to talk to us.

00:07So you have teams on the ground in Sudan.

00:09What are they telling you about the situation there?

00:12Well, unfortunately, the situation in Darfur continues to go from bad to worse.

00:18I think many of your listeners know that the city was under siege for some 600 days.

00:24We were not able to get in food, water, basic nutrition supplies, health supplies.

00:31And then we've had this massive spasm of violence.

00:34You've seen, I'm sure, on social media, some of the executions, some of the attacks that have happened.

00:41And now we have people leaving the city, not as many as we would have expected.

00:46We don't know where everybody is.

00:48But we do know that the atrocities and the violence they've been exposed to are off the charts.

00:54So some of that violence you mentioned, reports suggest that that's actually been targeted against women and children.

01:01What's UNICEF hearing about that?

01:04You know, I don't think there's anybody who's been spared by this, either directly or indirectly.

01:09Even if children aren't directly injured or killed, they have been witnessed.

01:15They've witnessed this violence.

01:16They will have these scars for the rest of their lives.

01:20The psychological trauma of seeing a family member killed or being separated from your family

01:25and walking for days to another community, that stays with you.

01:31And the scenes that we're seeing, what we're hearing, reminds me a lot of other massacres

01:37and other genocides that we've seen in the past.

01:41And this has got to stop.

01:43And this is already the world's worst humanitarian crisis, according to the United Nations.

01:49Now we're seeing this increase in violence, more people being displaced.

01:53What are your fears about what might come next?

01:55Well, we just heard from your correspondent about new attacks in the Kordofans.

02:03Look, all eyes are on Darfur, and rightly so.

02:06But there are other hot spots in the country as well.

02:09And the front lines continue to shift here.

02:11We know that children, no matter where they are in Sudan, are being affected by this.

02:16They've been affected by this war for over two years now.

02:21And it's essential that we get the resources here, that humanitarians are able to go where they need to go.

02:28And this population gets the support that it requires.

02:31One thing that's been damaged in this two-year conflict that started in 2023 are water systems.

02:37That's causing an increase in cholera.

02:40How much of an issue is controlling disease?

02:42Absolutely.

02:43Our cholera, of course, has spread to every state in Sudan here.

02:50We've had a huge spike in cases.

02:53Thankfully, due to the work of UNICEF and our partners, we've been able to tamper it down.

02:59But it's not going away.

03:02Infrastructure continues to be targeted.

03:04People continue to drink unsafe water.

03:06However, we still need to do all that we can to make sure people have access to good sanitation

03:11and to make sure that we address not just cholera, but all the other endemic diseases that are here as well,

03:18malaria, diphtheria, and to make sure that children are immunized and protected against these diseases

03:23that we can easily protect them against.

03:26Reports, too, that aid convoys may have been blocked.

03:30What specific kind of help of aid is most needed in Sudan now?

03:34All of the above.

03:37We need to make sure that children have access to good nutrition, to health care, to food, to protective services,

03:47to be safe, to make sure they know how to keep themselves safe.

03:51We need to make sure we can get holistic packages of support to communities in Al-Fasher

03:57or wherever these communities happen to be.

03:59So this is a conflict that, as we've said, has been going on since 2023.

04:03How important is it that the eyes of the world don't look away from what's happening in Sudan?

04:09Well, unfortunately, the eyes of the world have ignored Sudan.

04:13Given the state of this crisis, given that this is the largest humanitarian emergency in the world,

04:19I've been shocked how little attention there really is to the crisis here.

04:23And if we don't pay attention to this crisis, it's going to continue to grow.

04:28The needs will continue to increase.

04:30And the cost to all of us, the cost to children, will be enormous.

04:35Sheldon, great to talk to you.

04:36Thanks so much for joining us on the program.

04:38That's Sheldon Yett from UNICEF Sudan.

04:40Thanks so much for joining us on.

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