Violence in Sudan may lead to record numbers of hungry

Following the outbreak of violence that began on April 15 in Sudan, the World Food Program (WFP) forecasts that the number of people facing hunger in the African nation in the coming months will rise to between 2 and 2.5 million, a situation that would lead to increased acute food insecurity for 19 million Sudanese, or the equivalent two fifths of the population.

The UN agency predicted this Wednesday that the areas most affected by food insecurity would be the states of West Darfur, West Kordofan, Blue Nile, Red Sea and North Darfur and warned that the price of basic foods could increase by 25% in the next three to six months.

The situation could worsen and food become even more expensive if farmers do not have access to their fields between May and July, when they plan to start planting staple foods.

Expand the reach of humanitarian aid

After the partial interruption of operations due to conditions of insecurity and violence, the Program resumed its activities recently and last week it has already distributed essential food to more than 35,000 people.

The operations seek to assist a total of 384,000 people, and include families who have recently fled the conflict, refugees and internally displaced persons who already held this status, and vulnerable communities that host them in the states of Gedaref, Gezira, Kassala and White Nile.

The United Nations Humanitarian Air Services (UNHAS), managed by WFP, is initiating regular air links between the Sudanese city of Port Sudan and the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa, which will facilitate the safe transport of frontline aid workers and essential help.

In the coming months, the UN agency will expand the scope of emergency aid by supporting 4.9 million vulnerable people in areas where the security situation allows, in addition to preventing and treating moderate acute malnutrition for 600,000 children. five years and pregnant and lactating women.

Before the outbreak of the conflict, WFP operations they were already suffering from a funding gap of more than $300 million. The increase in hostilities will cause an increase in budgetary needs.

Support in neighboring countries

The Program provided emergency food aid to new arrivals in Chad, assisting more than 16,000 people so far. However, the humanitarian response is in jeopardy due to the low level of funding for operations in the African nation.

More than 40,000 people have already crossed into South Sudan, where the Program provides daily meals at transit centers, as well as nutritional screening for children and pregnant or lactating women.

In Egypt, where there is the largest influx of refugees, WFP works with the Government and the Egyptian Red Crescent. This last estate distributed the delivery of more than 20 metric tons of fortified food at the two points of entry into the country.

Some 9,700 people crossed the border between Sudan and the Central African Republic, arriving in the town of Amdafock, in Vakaga prefecture. WFP plans to assist some 25,000 who will arrive over the next few days.

Huge needs and scarce resources

Meanwhile, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, shared on Twitter that more than 150,000 people have already fled Sudan, both Sudanese citizens and refugees welcomed in the country.

“The needs are enormous. Resources are scarce. Help is needed, urgently!” wrote Grandi in his account of the famous social network.

In a week the number of displaced people doubles

For his part, the spokesman for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Paul Dillon, declared Tuesday at a press conference in Geneva that the number of people internally displaced by the fighting amounts to more than 700,000 people.

“Last Tuesday, the number was 340,000. And naturally, before the fighting, there were an estimated 3.7 million internally displaced people in Sudan,” he added.

blocked deliveries

Dillon explained that this UN agency “has stocks of non-food items in six warehouses throughout the country”, reserves that have not yet been distributed to the people who need them most.

“The fighting must end and aid workers must be allowed to resume their work, providing assistance to those most in need before the situation spirals further out of control,” the spokesperson said.