Two hundred thousand Sudanese children may not receive vaccines against polio due to fighting in South Kordofan, Blue Nile, and Darfur's Jebel Marra regions, UNICEF said.

Sudan’s government in collaboration with UNICEF and other partners launched a nationwide polio campaign with vitamin A supplementation over three days, targeting 4 million children under the age of five in fifteen states including in Darfur.

However, UNICEF expressed concerned that some 200,000 children in Darfur's Jebel Marra, South Kordofan, and Blue Nile are again at risk of missing out on another lifesaving intervention, some for almost five years.

“This cannot continue," said UNICEF Representative Geert Cappelaere. “We repetitively rescind on our collective accountability to these children”.

UNICEF called on all concerned to seek an end to the wars and ensure unconditional humanitarian access to all conflict affected areas especially in the Jebel Marra, South Kordofan, and Blue Nile for the sake of the children.

UNICEF promised to immediately support the procurement and transportation of vaccines to the areas of concern.

File photo: Polio vaccination team in Yida refugee camp for Sudanese citizens in South Sudan