A medic examines a child for malnutrition in Khartoum, Sudan. Sudan on the brink of massive famine: millions of people at risk Humanitarian assistance
The humanitarian crisis in Sudan is rapidly worsening. A new analysis supported by the United Nations has confirmed full-scale famine in parts of Darfur and Kordofan, caused by fighting and siege that has completely cut off the population from aid.
More than 21 million people across the country face acute food insecurity, the largest such crisis in the world, according to the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IFSI) report.
Hunger takes root
Famine conditions persist in the towns of El Fasher in North Darfur and Kadugli in Southern Kordofan, where families are forced to subsist on leaves, animal feed and grass.
Around 375,000 people across the country are in a situation that corresponds to the fifth phase of “catastrophic” food shortages. This means that people are on the brink of starvation.
The IPC system, used by UN agencies and humanitarian partners, rates crises in five levels, with the fifth phase being extreme exhaustion, acute malnutrition and rising mortality.
Siege of El Fasher
After the capture of the city of El Fasher by the Rapid Reaction Force (RRF) last week – after more than 500 days of siege – civilians remain in a critical situation. According to the UN, hundreds of civilians, including aid workers, have been killed and many are besieged.
The city remains cut off from supplies of food, medicine and humanitarian aid, despite numerous emergency calls for access.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has called the situation “unacceptable” and demanded that the safe passage of humanitarian convoys be immediately ensured.
Almost 71,000 people have fled El Fasher and the surrounding area since late October, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM). Many report killings, abductions and sexual violence suffered along the way.
Most of the displaced people found temporary shelter near the town of Tawila. They sleep in the open air and have no access to food or clean water.
Violence in Kordofan
Violence has flared again in the neighboring Kordofan region in recent days, with tens of thousands of people displaced home.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said that a rocket attack in Kadugli last week killed at least eight children in temporary shelters.
“A disaster for civilians”
UN Coordinator for Humanitarian Affairs in Sudan Denise Brown called it “a catastrophe for civilians caught between the front lines, without access to aid and on the brink of mass starvation.” $4.16 billion needed to implement the UN humanitarian response plan in Sudan this year. The organization warns that without a cessation of fighting and a significant expansion of humanitarian assistance, millions of Sudanese could face catastrophic famine in the coming months.