Famine spreads in Sudan

Health workers screen children and pregnant women for malnutrition at a shelter for displaced families in Gedaref state, Sudan. © UNICEF-Osman Rajab

10 January 2025 - Lifesaving efforts by UN humanitarians and partners to distribute food and agricultural aid in Sudan last year reached millions, agencies reported on Friday – but needs are only growing. 

The World Food Programme (WFP) provided lifesaving assistance to 7.8 million people, while the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reached nearly three million children with essential nutrition support. 

This was done in the face of an escalating crisis resulting from the brutal war between rival militaries which erupted in April 2023 between the forces of the military Government and the so-called Rapid Support Forces militia. 

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that over 25.6 million people remain acutely food insecure. 

Disruptions to agriculture caused by conflict, mass displacement, heavy rainfall, floods and limited financing have crippled food production for a second consecutive year.

Famine has now spread to five regions according to WFP, leaving some 755,000 people on the brink of starvation.

UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told correspondents in New York that as the conflict rages on, “families and communities trapped in the middle of it and in hard-to-reach areas are continuing to bear the brunt of the violence and the suffering.”                                 

He said the lack of access to sufficient food and basic services in these hard-to-reach areas inside Sudan is likely to swell while “the risk of destitution and death increases.”  

Immediate and unimpeded humanitarian access is essential, for the UN and aid partners to deliver the assistance required. 

Five million children displaced

Nour, who is internally displaced, is only surviving thanks to Ombaz - a type of animal feed, UNICEF reported. 

The agency said ongoing fighting has displaced around five million children, including one-year-old Samah. Her mother walked for 20 days to reach safety in a refugee camp.

Aid workers have scaled-up efforts under the Famine Prevention Plan launched in April 2024. However, with challenges in access and resource shortages persisting, the UN has urgently called for international support to prevent further catastrophe. – UN News