Five million Sudanese face hunger in the coming months
About five million Sudanese face hunger in the coming months in different parts of the war-torn country,
according to warnings by the UN Humanitarian Coordinator Martin Griffiths.
In a memorandum to the UN Security Council, seen by Reuters, Griffiths pointed to catastrophic levels of hunger resulting from the effects of the raging conflict in the country, whether on its livelihoods or agricultural production, in addition to the destruction of its basic infrastructure.
The UN official also noted the disruption of trade flows in Sudan caused by the war, the crazy rise in prices, the obstruction of aid access, and large waves of displacement.
Griffiths said in the memorandum: “Without urgent humanitarian assistance and access to basic commodities… about five million Sudanese will slide into a catastrophic level of food insecurity in many parts of Sudan in the coming months.”
Griffiths warned of the possibility that many residents of West and Central Darfur could slide into these levels of hunger in light of the deteriorating security situation and the beginning of the dry season.
The UN official pointed out in his memorandum that cross-border aid from Chad to Darfur is a “vital lifeline.”
Griffiths pointed out that about 730,000 children across Sudan, including more than 240,000 in Darfur, are facing severe malnutrition.
Griffiths said: “Indeed, we have observed unprecedented rates of severe malnutrition in accessible areas.”
” The largest hunger crisis in the world “
The United Nations World Food Program warned that the war in Sudan threatens to lead to “the largest hunger crisis in the world.”
The war broke out in Sudan in mid-April last year, between the Sudanese army on the one hand and the Rapid Support Forces on the other.
The United Nations says that about 25 million people – half of the Sudanese population – are in need of aid, and that about eight million people have been displaced from their homes.
Sudanese Women Cry From Hunger The World Must Not Ignore Sudan’s Hunger Crisis Humanitarian workers are extremely frustrated that the conflict and hunger in Sudan is hardly getting any media attention. The civil war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has gone on for more than one year and half, endangering the lives of millions. Over 8 million people been leaving their homes, losing everything. Sudan is now the world’s largest displacement crisis. Food shortages are worsening across the country and starvation is occurring. But you rarely hear about it in the news. We recently listened to a briefing from the Sudan directors of some organisations such as the International Rescue Committee (IRC), and the Norwegian Refugee Council. They warn of potential famine. The fighting has spread into Sudan’s main agricultural areas, destroying precious farmland. Farmers cannot grow food as the conflict rages on. Sudan’s harvest is now reduced, worsening hunger in the already impoverished country. To make matters worse, the humanitarian agencies in Sudan are not getting enough funding to help the victims of the civil war. These charities depend on support from the public.
There is so little food in some areas of Sudan that people are taking extreme measures to survive. Hunger and starvation are spreading across Sudan, as the war that erupted in April last year between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) shows no sign of abating. The outlook is dire, according to interviews with over 160 civilians caught in the fighting and more than 60 aid workers and food security experts, as well as a review of food surveys by aid agencies. Reuters reporters also spent close to a week in Omdurman last month, one of three cities that comprise the capital Khartoum, interviewing people who had suffered severe food shortages. “Sudan’s war has created the world’s largest hunger crisis,” said Anette Hoffmann, author of a report on the food emergency in Sudan by the Netherlands-based Clingendael think tank. “We will likely see a famine that we haven’t seen in decades.” People across Sudan are taking increasingly desperate measures to survive. In West Darfur, farmers have eaten the seeds they bought for planting because they have run out of food. In the Kordofan region, people have sold their furniture and clothes to get cash for food.
