DUBAI - In a distressing update, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) disclosed on Friday a dire situation in Sudan, citing a doubling of the number of starving people over the past year due to a war obstructing access to vital aid. Reports suggest that individuals are succumbing to starvation, and the WFP urgently appealed to Sudan's conflicting factions – the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) – to ensure unimpeded relief delivery.
Approximately 18 million Sudanese citizens are now grappling with acute hunger, with over five million facing emergency levels in conflict-affected regions, including Khartoum, Darfur, and El Gezira state. The WFP expressed concern, revealing that aid could only reach one in 10 people in these critical areas. The challenges stem from escalating security threats, roadblocks, and exorbitant fees demanded by authorities.
The conflict, which erupted in April 2023, originated from a power struggle between the army and RSF concerning a shift towards civilian rule. The once-shared power arrangement with civilians, following the ousting of former leader Omar al-Bashir in 2019, crumbled when both factions staged a coup in 2021, thwarting the transition. Despite ongoing negotiation efforts, there has been no breakthrough in halting the hostilities.
The WFP highlighted efforts to secure guarantees for resuming operations in El Gezira, a former aid hub where many sought refuge from Khartoum. Complicating matters, aid deliveries have been severely hampered, with 70 trucks stranded in Port Sudan for over two weeks and another 31 stuck in El Obeid for over three months, both under army control.
Eddie Rowe, the WFP representative in Sudan, stressed the urgency of the situation, stating, "Every single one of our trucks needs to be on the road each day delivering food to the Sudanese people." However, life-saving assistance is failing to reach those in critical need, with reports emerging of individuals succumbing to starvation.
As per the classification agreed upon by U.N. agencies and NGOs, crisis-level hunger denotes households grappling with high rates of acute malnutrition or barely meeting minimum needs through crisis-coping strategies. Emergency levels indicate households facing severe acute malnutrition or death, relying on emergency measures or liquidating essential assets to survive. The situation demands immediate international attention to avert a humanitarian catastrophe.