War-hit Sudan is in a “growing hunger crisis” characterized by worsening hunger and a surge in acute malnutrition, according to an independent food security expert group.
Experts say hunger has spread to five regions, with 24.6 million people, or about half the population, in need of emergency food aid.
The hunger crisis was caused by a 20-month civil war that devastated Sudan.
Various mediation efforts aimed at ending the conflict between the military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have so far failed.
The military and RSF jointly staged a coup in 2021, but a power struggle between commanders plunged the country into civil war in 2023.
This has caused one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, with the UN-backed Famine Review Commission (FRC) warning that “a greater catastrophe” could occur if the conflict is not ended.
The committee is associated with the Integrated Food Classification (IPC), a global effort by UN agencies, aid organizations and governments to identify hunger status.
The Sudanese government, backed by the Sudanese military, suspended cooperation with the group on Monday, accusing it of publishing “unreliable reports that undermine Sudan’s sovereignty and dignity,” according to Reuters. Then he announced.
IPC first confirmed famine in August at the Zamzam camp in Sudan’s Darfur region, where around 500,000 people had fled.
The FRC said in its latest report that the camps of Abu Shauk and Al Salam in the besieged city of El Fasher in Darfur, as well as two areas in South Kordofan province, are also affected by famine.
“Hunger is the most extreme manifestation of human suffering and represents the catastrophic collapse of systems and resources essential to survival,” the FRC said.
“It’s not just a food shortage, it’s a severe breakdown in health, livelihoods and social fabric, leaving entire communities in a state of despair,” he added.
The FRC predicted that five more regions in Darfur could face famine by May, with the risk of famine spreading to 17 other regions.
“In areas of high conflict intensity, hostilities have significantly disrupted agricultural activities, resulting in farmers abandoning crops, looting and destruction of livestock,” the report added.
Darfur and South Kordofan have both been hit by the worst violence, with scores of civilians killed, raped and kidnapped by gunmen.
In May, Tom Perriello, the US special envoy to Sudan, said some estimates put up to 150,000 people dead in the conflict across the country.
