Ahmad 
The “Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) initiative” announced that Sudan is witnessing the worst food crisis in its history, with 25.6 million people, more than half the country’s population, suffering from crisis conditions or worse.
The Rome-based initiative reported that this crisis comes after 14 months of ongoing conflict, which led to a sharp and rapid deterioration in food conditions.
According to the initiative’s criteria, these conditions are classified as Phase 3 or higher of the food security classification stages.
The report indicated that 755,000 people are facing a food catastrophe in ten states, including Greater Darfur, South and North Kordofan, Blue Nile, Al-Jazeera, and Khartoum.
The report indicated that 8.5 million people (18% of the population) are facing an emergency (Phase 4).
The initiative warned of the risk of famine in 14 areas that include local residents, displaced persons, and refugees, if the conflict escalates further, especially in Greater Darfur, Greater Kordofan, Al-Jazeera, and some hot spots in Khartoum.
The report noted that the situation is extremely critical for people trapped in areas affected by direct conflict or lack of security and protection, expecting that at least 534,000 displaced persons and refugees will face critical or catastrophic levels of food insecurity in conflict-affected areas.
The latest results show a rapid deterioration in the food security situation compared to the December 2023 update, with a 45% increase in the number of people in Phase 3, a 74% increase in the number of people in Phase 4, and a 755,000 increase in the number of people in Phase 5 (catastrophe).
This escalation in the food security crisis reflects the impact of the ongoing conflict on the humanitarian situation in Sudan, which calls for an urgent response from the international community to provide the necessary support and assistance.
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