A report released by Save the Children on Thursday, September 11, revealed that the war raging in Sudan since April 2023 has deprived three-quarters of school-age children of attending classes, as fighting between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) continues.
In its findings, Save the Children said that 13 million out of 17 million children of school age are unable to access education, describing it as “one of the worst education crises in the world.”
According to the report, more than half of Sudan’s schools remain closed due to the conflict, while one in every ten has been converted into shelters for displaced families.
Speaking to the press, Save the Children’s Sudan country director, Mohamed Abdel Latif, said, “It is easy to overlook education as a priority during a crisis, but as the conflict drags on, children are losing the most critical years of learning that they will never be able to get back. That means some of these children may never learn to read or write.”
He warned that if the war continues, “millions of children will be unable to return to school, exposing them to both short- and long-term risks, including displacement, recruitment into armed groups and sexual violence.”
The vast majority out of school
Although some cities in central and northern Sudan have experienced relative calm in recent months—after the army forced RSF fighters out in May and more than 2 million displaced people began returning home since the start of the year, according to the United Nations—the infrastructure remains devastated. Schools and hospitals are still closed, electricity remains cut off, and conditions make it extremely difficult for children to resume their education.
The Save the Children report noted that about 4 million children have recently returned to school. However, the overwhelming majority remain out of class due to mass displacement, a shortage of teachers and educational resources, and movement restrictions caused by ongoing violence.
Sudan also faces one of the world’s worst hunger and displacement crises. Displacement camps, especially in the west, are grappling with overcrowding, famine conditions, and a cholera outbreak amid the absence of health care and basic services.
Cholera patients are being treated at an isolation facility inside refugee camps in western Sudan, in the city of Tawila, Darfur, on August 14, 2025.
The war between the Sudanese army and RSF erupted in April 2023 and quickly divided the country into rival power bases. It has so far killed tens of thousands, displaced more than 13 million, and destroyed large parts of its civilian infrastructure.
AFP / Al-Yurae
