“The speed at which hunger has risen over the past year is alarming. More and more people are struggling to eat a basic meal a day, and unless things change there is a very real risk they won’t even be able to do that,” said Eddie Rowe, WFP Country Director in Sudan.
Sudan, once described as East Africa’s potential breadbasket, is staring at a deepening hunger crisis as the conflict approaches its eighth month.
In April, clashes erupted between the rival Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) which answers to the military government and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), with each group’s leader vying for overall control.
In addition to the impact of food security, the violence also left the country’s health system in tatters and displaced millions within the country and sent refugees fleeing its borders.
Nearly 18 million people across Sudan are facing acute hunger (IPC3+) – more than double the number suffering the same time a year ago.
This figure is also higher than the initial projection of 15 million living with acute hunger made in the previous assessment in August.
Currently, close to five million people are in emergency levels of food insecurity (IPC4) with over three-quarters confined to areas where humanitarian access has been intermittent and, in some cases, impossible due to ongoing fighting.