Sudan: An Unprecedented Famine Threatens Millions

Sudan is facing a devastating food crisis, with famine spreading rapidly and millions affected as conflict destroys crops, infrastructure, and livelihoods.

Sudan risks becoming the world’s largest hunger crisis in recent history as conflict continues to rage across the country, destroying livelihoods, infrastructure, trade routes and supply chains. Famine was first confirmed by the Famine Review Committee (FRC) in August 2024 in North Darfur’s Zamzam camp and has since spread to four more areas.

The famine announcement confirms the fears of the humanitarian community and follows an IPC (Integrated Food Security Phase Classification) analysis in June showing a dramatic decline in food and nutrition security; with 755,000 people facing catastrophic conditions.

Almost a year and a half after the conflict started, Sudan continues to slide into a widening Famine Crisis characterized by widespread starvation and a significant surge in acute malnutrition. Half of the population (24.6 million) is facing high levels of acute food insecurity, an unprecedented deepening and widening of the food and nutrition crisis, triggered by the devastating conflict.

Though above-average rainfall supported agriculture in areas where security conditions allowed, ongoing conflict severely disrupted farming activities. Farmers were forced to abandon fields, and crops were looted or destroyed. Displaced families, particularly those in settlements and public buildings, remain cut off from the benefits of the harvest.

The brutal conflict between rival militaries vying for power and influence last April has driven more than 12 million civilians – nearly a quarter of Sudan’s population – from their homes, exacerbating food insecurity and overwhelming host communities. In Darfur, Al Jazirah and Khartoum, markets have come under attack, and in many areas the hostilities have resulted in inflated food prices, damaged farms, crops and machinery.

UNICEF and the UN World Food Programme (WFP) have also been warning of the escalating risk to the people of Sudan, particularly children, if urgent aid cannot be delivered to communities trapped in conflict hotspots like Darfur, Khartoum, Kordofan and Al Jazirah. Over 1 in 3 children are facing acute malnutrition – above the 20 percent threshold for a famine confirmation.

Although humanitarian partners in Sudan continue to implement the Famine Prevention Plan (FPP) launched in April 2024 to scale up response to millions of people in acute need, of the 9.3 million people targeted for support, 6.8 million have received some form of humanitarian assistance. However, in the context of increasing humanitarian needs and a simultaneous rise in operational complexity, the humanitarian community’s ability to respond to conflict-induced food insecurity needs will be contingent on an enabling access environment, assurances of aid worker safety, and respect for humanitarian principles.

Severely restricted humanitarian access is one of the main drivers of the famine conditions in some regions such as Zamzam. While UNICEF was able to deliver enough supplies of life-saving Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) to treat approximately 4,000 severely acutely malnourished children, including an allocation for Zamzam camp, the continued lack of sustained, safe access means the needs remain huge and continued ability to deliver humanitarian supplies is unpredictable.

One of the most reliable means of food delivery to civilians comes through emergency response rooms and communal kitchens – civilians-run volunteer spaces that provide food to millions despite the dangers involved. Local communities in Sudan have shown remarkable determination, organizing mutual aid groups, running soup kitchens, including on the frontline, and revitalizing markets to ensure survival. However, volunteers are frequently targeted, harassed and attacked by parties to the conflict.

Both SAF and RSF, along with their foreign supporters, are responsible for what is an apparent deliberate use of starvation, constituting crimes against humanity and war crimes under international law. The world must pay attention to the largest modern famine taking shape in Sudan today, insisting on an immediate ceasefire and a political solution to end this horror and urgent assistance.

References
https://www.ipcinfo.org/ipc-country-analysis/details-map/en/c/1159433/
https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/12/1158511#:~:text=The%20crisis%20is%20projected%20to,December%202024%20and%20May%202025.
https://reliefweb.int/report/sudan/sudan-famine-prevention-snapshot-may-november-2024
https://www.wfp.org/emergencies/sudan-emergency
https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/famine-confirmed-sudans-north-darfur-confirming-un-agencies-worst-fears
https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/10/sudan-faces-one-worst-famines-decades-warn-un-experts