The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has issued a stark warning: tens of thousands more people in Sudan could die if the country’s brutal civil war continues into a third year. The warning comes amid a massive funding shortfall and severely limited humanitarian access, both of which are hampering efforts to prevent widespread famine.
Shaun Hughes, the WFP’s emergency coordinator for the Sudan crisis, described the situation as the “largest humanitarian crisis in the world by any metric” during a UN briefing on Thursday. The war, which began on April 15, 2023, has devastated the country, displacing 12 million people and leaving millions more on the brink of starvation.
According to Hughes, famine has already taken hold in 10 areas across Darfur and Kordofan, and 17 more regions are at imminent risk. Without an urgent injection of $650 million in funding over the next six months—a figure representing an 80% shortfall—the WFP will be unable to scale up aid operations to meet the growing needs.
“This war is having devastating consequences for the people of Sudan and the entire region,” Hughes warned. “Unless we gain the access and resources to reach those in need, tens of thousands more will die.”
The war was triggered by a power struggle between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a powerful paramilitary group. Although the army regained control of Khartoum last month, the RSF still dominates much of western and southern Sudan, including the conflict-ravaged Darfur region.
El-Fasher, a city in Darfur, and the nearby Zamzam displacement camp, which houses 400,000 people, have become epicenters of both conflict and famine. Reports indicate that people are dying from starvation and malnutrition, with humanitarian agencies forced to withdraw due to the siege-like conditions.
The last delivery of food aid to Zamzam was in October, though the WFP has been able to distribute digital cash aid to help residents buy what food they can. However, without reestablishing ground operations in the worst-hit areas, the famine is expected to worsen, potentially impacting nearly half of Sudan’s 50 million people.
Hughes stressed the need for fast, flexible aid delivery, saying: “We need to quickly move humanitarian assistance to where it’s needed—across front lines, borders, and without bureaucratic delays.”
The WFP currently reaches 3 million people monthly in Sudan and aims to expand its reach to 7 million, prioritizing areas already suffering from famine or at high risk.
Meanwhile, the International Committee of the Red Cross released a separate report describing Sudan’s humanitarian conditions as catastrophic, citing attacks on hospitals and civilian infrastructure that have crippled access to essential services.
Source: https://www.arabnews.com/node/2596606/middle-east