Africa

Sudan faces unprecedented levels of hunger

Sudan faces unprecedented levels of hunger

The risk of widespread famine in Sudan due to the war in the country was confirmed this Thursday by various experts from food and children’s agencies, who they warned that the country faces “the worst levels of acute food insecurity ever recorded.”

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), he United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Food Program from the ONU (PMA) had already reported the rapid deterioration of the living conditions of the Sudanese population, particularly children, as food security is dismantled by a war that has devastated the country for more than a year.

The agencies have jointly mobilized a large-scale humanitarian response within Sudan and in neighboring countries, where more than two million refugees have sought safety.

They also stated that An immediate ceasefire and new international efforts are urgently neededboth diplomatic and financial, as well as unhindered and sustained humanitarian access, so that the humanitarian response can be further scaled up and agencies can deliver their services at the necessary speed.

Risk of famine in 14 areas

The rapid deterioration of food security in Sudan has left 755,000 people in catastrophic conditions (level 5, the highest level of the classification), with risk of famine in 14 areas, according to the latest data published by the Integrated Phase Classification.

The worst conditions occur in the areas hardest hit by the fighting and where those displaced by the conflict have concentrated. A total of 25.6 million people are in high levels of acute hunger (level 3 of a total of 5 levels). This means that, half of the Sudanese population struggles every day to feed themselves and their families.

This is a food catastrophe on a scale not seen since the Darfur crisis in the early 2000s. Unlike twenty years ago, the current crisis is spreading across the country, with levels reaching even the capital, Khartoum, and the state of Gezira, once the breadbasket of Sudan.

Almost seven million more in six months

These new data also show a marked deterioration in the population compared to the last projection, published in December 2023, which indicated that 17.7 million people faced acute hunger, instead of 25.6 million.

“The new analysis reveals a deep and rapid deterioration of the food security situation in Sudan, with the lives of millions of people in danger,” said the FAO director general, who detailed that the agency is distributing seeds for the season main planting.

“The clock is ticking against the Sudanese farmers,” declared QU Dongyu. “We must act collectively, at scale, with unhindered access, for the sake of millions of innocent lives hanging in the balance.”

The person in charge pointed out that the agency Urgently needs $60 million to finance its Famine Prevention Planin order to ensure that the population, especially those in inaccessible areas, is able to produce food locally and avoid food shortages in the next six months.

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