Sudan faces unprecedented hunger catastrophe

New data reveals that over 750,000 people are experiencing catastrophic levels of food insecurity with 25.6 million people in crisis levels of hunger

Alarming new food security projections for Sudan published show that Sudan is facing a devastating hunger catastrophe on a scale not seen since the Darfur crisis in the early 2000s, warned the heads of three United Nations agencies. 

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the UN World Food Programme (WFP) have been warning of rapid deterioration in conditions for the people of Sudan, particularly children, as food security is torn apart by the war that has ravaged the country for more than a year. Collectively the agencies have mobilised a large-scale humanitarian response inside Sudan and in neighbouring countries where more than 2 million refugees have sought safety. 

An immediate ceasefire and renewed international efforts – both diplomatic and financial – as well as unhindered and sustained humanitarian access, are urgently needed to enable the humanitarian response to be further expanded and to allow the agencies to deliver at the speed needed.

The rapid deterioration in food security in Sudan has left 755,000 people in catastrophic conditions (IPC Phase 5) with a risk of famine in 14 areas, according to the latest Snapshot data released by the Integrated Phase Classification. The worst conditions are in the areas hardest hit by fighting and where people displaced by the conflict have gathered. A total of 25.6 million people are in high levels of acute hunger (IPC Phase 3+). This means that for half of Sudan’s war-battered population, every single day is a struggle to feed themselves and their families.