World Vision warns of crisis of “epic proportions” in Sudan 500 days after war broke out

Aug. 27 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The NGO World Vision warned on Tuesday that hunger and sexual violence have reached unprecedented levels in Sudan, with up to 65 percent of women, according to estimates, being victims of some form of aggression, 500 days after the conflict broke out.

In its report ‘Unprecedented: The crisis of children and families in Sudan’, World Vision has pointed out that while the world’s attention is focused elsewhere, the situation in the African country has resulted in a humanitarian crisis of “epic proportions”, with 26 million people at risk of hunger.

These figures represent more than half of Sudan’s population and one million of these people are expected to face life-threatening famine conditions between October and December 2024, the report said.

“Children are particularly affected by high rates of food insecurity and this is World Vision’s main concern in Sudan at the moment,” said John Makoni, the NGO’s country director in the country.

“Across the country, four million children under the age of five are expected to be hungry by the end of 2024, and 730,000 are expected to suffer from severe acute malnutrition (…) the time to act is now,” she said.

The NGO has also focused on the millions of children and young people who will suffer serious mental disorders due to the consequences of the conflict. A problem whose long-term repercussions will affect an entire generation of Sudanese.

“An estimated 40 percent of people with severe mental illness are food insecure. Even after peace is restored, the people of Sudan will urgently need psychosocial support,” said Phiona Koyiet, mental health advisor at World Vision.

SEXUAL VIOLENCE AS A WEAPON OF WAR

The report also reveals that millions of women and girls are in an even more aggravated security situation, since they are victims of sexual violence, so commonly used as a weapon of war in this type of crisis.

The presence of armed groups, displacement, and the weakening of protection networks turn “the bodies of women and girls into battlefields.”

Koyiet also says communities are more likely to resort to specific forms of sexual violence, such as exploitation or child marriage, to cope with insecurity and increased needs.

“The significant lack of international support is unacceptable. The global neglect of Sudan is a serious failure of international solidarity and foresight. The situation in the country and the resulting refugee flows threaten to overwhelm the entire East African region,” Makoni warned.

CONTEXT

War broke out in Sudan on 15 April 2023 due to strong disagreements over the process of integrating the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) – now declared a terrorist organisation – into the Armed Forces, a situation that caused the definitive derailment of the transition that began in 2019 after the fall of the Omar Hassan al Bashir regime.