Sudan: fighting continues and hunger increases, destined to reach record levels if the conflict continues

ROME – The regions where there is the risk of registering the most serious peak of food insecurity are western and northern Darfur, western Kordofan, the Blue Nile and the Red Sea area. The cost of food is rising across the country and the price of basic food items is expected to rise by 25 percent in the next three to six months. If farmers are prevented from accessing their fields and planting staple food crops between May and July, food prices will rise even more. In the coming months, 19 million people, or two-fifths of the population, risk sinking into famine.

Aid in neighboring countries. The conflict has resulted in a wave of internally and externally displaced people in Sudan, with people fleeing to neighboring countries in need of basic necessities such as shelter, food and water. In Chad, the World Food Programme of the United Nations (WFP) has provided emergency food assistance to new arrivals and has so far reached over 16,000 people. More than 40,000 people have already entered South Sudan, where WFP provides hot meals every day at transit centers and nutritional checks for children and pregnant or breastfeeding women.

The situation in Egypt. The country experiencing the largest influx of refugees, WFP is working with the government and the Egyptian Red Crescent Society to provide food assistance to those fleeing the crisis in Sudan. More than 20 tonnes of food items have been delivered to the two entry points of the displaced people and are currently being distributed by the Egyptian Red Crescent. WFP is coordinating with the government, the Crescent and the UNHCR to start the immediate distribution of emergency food, consisting of ready-made food rations, to displaced families arriving from Sudan.

The Central African Republic. Nearly 9,700 people have crossed the border from Sudan and reached Amdafock in Vakaga Prefecture. WFP expects to assist nearly 25,000 new arrivals in the coming days. Vakaga prefecture is experiencing “emergency” levels of hunger due to lack of supplies and funding, including for organizations working there.

The data released. The current fighting has displaced more than 330,000 people inside Sudan, with another 100,000 refugees and returnees leaving the country, according to UNHCR estimates. The constant fighting, the looting, the increase in the cost of transport and the lack of means of transport make it difficult to move, especially for those who have to leave the areas where there is fighting. For these same reasons, the possibility of accessing health care has also suffered a negative impact, just as the possibility of providing aid to people who live in the most remote areas and who will soon suffer the further discomfort caused since the beginning of the rainy season.