5 million could suffer ‘catastrophic’ hunger in Sudan

March 16, 2024 (NEW YORK) – Nearly five million people in Sudan are at risk of “catastrophic” hunger in the coming months, the United Nations has warned.

In a brief note to the UN Security Council on Friday, UN emergency relief coordinator, chief Martin Griffiths said acute levels of hunger were being driven by the impact of the conflict on agriculture, economic crisis and displacements.

“Without urgent humanitarian assistance and access to basic commodities almost 5 million people could slip into catastrophic food insecurity in some parts of the country in the coming months,” Griffiths wrote.

The UN official called on the country’s warring parties to allow aid deliveries.

He expressed concerns that some people in West and Central Darfur would move into famine conditions as security worsens, owing to the intensity of the conflict.

“This is a moment of truth. The parties must silence the guns, protect civilians and ensure humanitarian access,” Griffiths said in a post on X.

According to the senior UN official, nearly 730,000 Sudanese children, including more than 240,000 in Darfur, are thought to suffer from “severe” malnutrition.

“An unprecedented surge in the treatment of severe wasting, the most lethal manifestation of malnutrition, is already being observed in accessible areas,” he stressed.

At least 8.3 million people have been displaced from the country, with many forced into neighbouring Chad and South Sudan since conflict broke out in mid-April last year between the Sudanese army (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Also, tens of thousands of people have already been killed, latest UN figures show.

Last week, the UN Security Council called for a ceasefire to coincide with the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The SAF has, however, rejected the call.

Griffiths said there is need for humanitarian access by the parties to the conflict.

He said half of the country’s 50 million people require aid, weeks after the UN launched an appeal for $2.7bn as humanitarian response plan for Sudan in 2024.

(ST)