FAO issues stark warning over deeply concerning scale of hunger in Sudan

Deputy Director-General Maurizio Martina briefs UN Security Council on the impact of conflict on food security

The scale of hunger across Sudan is “deeply concerning” and requires an “immediate cessation of hostilities” as an essential first step in eliminating the risk of famine, Deputy Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Maurizio Martina told a United Nations Security Council High-Level Open Debate on the protection of civilians in armed conflict.

After nearly 11 months of civil war, almost 18 million people in Sudan are facing acute food insecurity. This is the highest number ever recorded during a harvest season.

The latest IPC report shows that areas where the conflict has been more intense, including West Darfur, Khartoum, and South Kordofan, are those with populations facing the highest food insecurity (IPC Phase 3 or above).

Without urgent humanitarian assistance and access to basic commodities, people experiencing emergency levels of acute hunger or Integrated Phase Classification (IPC) Phase 4 – of which there are almost 5 million people – could slip into catastrophic food insecurity in the coming months.

Additionally, Sudan is facing the world’s largest displacement crisis, with more than 8 million people having been displaced since the conflict started in April 2023.

Given the scale of the situation, “a peaceful and negotiated political solution and immediate cessation of hostilities to facilitate the delivery of urgent humanitarian assistance is an essential first step in eliminating the risk of famine,” Martina told the High-Level debate.