Sudan’s war has disrupted schooling for millions of children, with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reporting at least eight million out of school as attacks and displacement impede access.
On Aug. 10, 2026, UNICEF said at least eight million school-age children remained out of school, including about 4.1 million girls. It said nearly half of Sudan’s school buildings could no longer serve as classrooms. In Darfur, the agency said, 73% of schools had been damaged, destroyed or left nonfunctional since fighting began in April 2023.
UNICEF also reported that many teachers, particularly in Darfur and Kordofan, had gone without salaries, affecting their income and the ability to sustain education. It warned that children out of school face heightened risks of exploitation, child labor, child marriage, trafficking and recruitment by armed groups.
Al Jazeera reported on Oct. 27 that Abkar Mohammed, 9, had been displaced from Khartoum to Port Sudan and earns money by cleaning and stitching shoes. The outlet said he gives his earnings to his mother for household expenses and does not attend regular school because of the family’s finances, though he goes to Quran lessons.
Save the Children estimated in a Jan. 22, 2026, report that more than eight million children had missed about 484 classroom days since the war began.
UNICEF said drone strikes hit two warehouses in Shikan locality, North Kordofan, on Sept. 20. The destroyed stock included more than 292,000 textbooks, 40,000 Arabic-language and mathematics review books, and other learning materials. The supplies were scheduled to go to schools in West Bara, Bara and Um Dam from October 2026. UNICEF did not identify who carried out the strikes.
UNICEF and Save the Children launched a program in May 2026 with support from the Global Partnership for Education. It aims to help more than 328,000 conflict-affected children return to learning from 2026 to 2028 and support the reopening of about 850 schools across seven states.
