6.3 million Sudanese on the brink of femine – UN food agency warns

The World Food Programme, WFP, says the war in Sudan has pushed no fewer than 20 million people into severe acute hunger, while warning that 6.3 million of them are “one step away from famine.”

“Around 42% of Sudan’s population had now been pushed into hunger; 6.3 million of those were classified as experiencing IPC (Integrated Food Security Phase Classification) 3 or 4 categories of hunger, just one step away from famine,” Eddie Rowe, WFP country director for Sudan said at a UN press briefing virtually.

“Since mid-April, the conflict has continued to spread, and its dynamics have become increasingly more complex. Gaining access to people in need of life-saving food assistance has also become more challenging and increasingly urgent,” Rowe added.

The north African country has been ravaged by violent confrontations between the army and the Rapid Support Forces, RSF, since mid-April.

The clashes have caused the death of more than 3,000 civilians and injured several others according to a local report.

On its part, the UN refugee agency UNHCR, noted that over four million people have been displaced by the crisis.

The country’s food security situation is “deeply alarming,” Adam Yao, the deputy representative of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), also hinted.

He explained that the FAO will give livestock services and inputs to 1.3 million pastoralists in order to improve nutrition and food security for 6.5 million people.

The most affected states are Khartoum, South, and West Kordofan, and parts of Darfur.