Sudan’s war threatens an ‘entire generation’s’ future, UN warns

What the report says

The United Nations is warning that Sudan’s civil war is endangering the country’s future by keeping more than 8 million school-age children out of classrooms. The warning came on Friday, when Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed spoke at an informal UN Security Council meeting focused on protecting education in Sudan, where the war has continued for more than three years.

According to Al Jazeera’s report, nearly three-quarters of schools in Sudan’s Darfur region have been damaged, destroyed or made unusable since fighting began in April 2023. Mohammed said the conflict is depriving children of education and leaving many parents unwilling to send them to school because home feels safer. She also said more than 67 attacks on schools and more than 154 cases of schools being used for military purposes have been documented since 2024, though she stressed these figures likely undercount the true scale.

The report said more than half of Sudan’s teachers have gone unpaid, even as many continue working. It added that UN agencies and partners have helped more than a million children return to some form of learning this year, but that remains far below what is needed. The broader crisis has displaced about 15 million people and left nearly 33 million in urgent need of aid, with children among the hardest hit.

The warning adds to growing international concern over the war’s long-term social damage. In general, prolonged conflict can erode education systems for years, making recovery difficult even after fighting slows, but Al Jazeera’s report focused on the immediate impact on Sudanese children and schools.