The United Nations warns that Sudan’s more‑than three‑year conflict has left over 8 million school‑age children out of class and risks erasing a generation’s future. Deputy Secretary‑General Amina Mohammed said nearly 75% of schools in Darfur are damaged or unusable and five in six children are out of school. The UN has recorded dozens of attacks on schools and the military use of education facilities; more than half of teachers are unpaid. Despite helping over 1 million children return to some learning this year, the UN says vastly more support is urgently needed amid mass displacement and severe human rights abuses.
UN Warns Sudan War Is Robbing a Generation — Over 8 Million Children Out of School
Children wait for water at a refugee camp in Oure Cassoni, Chad, after arriving from Sudan, on February 23, 2026 [Dan Kitwood/Getty]
More than 8 million school‑age children in Sudan remain out of the classroom as the civil war that began in April 2023 continues, the United Nations warned on Friday. Deputy Secretary‑General Amina Mohammed delivered the warning during an informal UN Security Council session focused on protecting education, noting the conflict has now entered its 1,210th day.
"Among everything this war is taking, one of the most significant is the future of Sudan — depriving the education of its children," Mohammed said, warning that the fighting risks stealing the future of an entire generation.
“Sudan has already lost a generation to its earlier wars, and it is losing another one now,” Mohammed added, stressing that the burden falls disproportionately on women and children who “had no say in any of it, but suffer most.”
The UN reports that nearly three‑quarters of schools in Darfur have been damaged, destroyed or rendered unusable since fighting flared there in April 2023. Across affected areas, roughly five in six children are now out of school as parents increasingly keep children at home where they feel safer.
Since 2024, the UN has documented more than 67 attacks on schools and over 154 instances of schools being used for military purposes — figures the deputy secretary‑general says likely understate the true toll. More than half of Sudan’s teachers are currently unpaid, though many continue teaching despite immense hardship.
The UN and its partners have helped more than 1 million children resume some form of learning this year, but Mohammed warned this falls far short of what is needed to prevent long‑term, generational harm.
UNICEF has repeatedly highlighted the conflict’s impact on children: approximately 15 million people have been displaced nationwide, and nearly 33 million people — more than half of them children — are estimated to be in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.
Visiting Sudan earlier this year, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk described accounts of mass killings and gang rape, calling the situation “not just another conflict” but “a human rights catastrophe unfolding in real time.”
Children wait for water at a refugee camp in Oure Cassoni, Chad, after arriving from Sudan, on February 23, 2026. [Dan Kitwood/Getty]
What Needs To Happen
Mohammed and other UN officials urged sustained international funding for education in emergencies, protected access to safe learning spaces, the immediate end to attacks on schools, and reliable payment and support for teachers so education can continue despite the conflict.
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