The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
UN relief teams warn of record levels of hunger in Sudan amid ongoing conflict
With conflict and economic decline continuing across Sudan, UN humanitarians on Friday dubbed the country “one of the most food-insecure…on the planet”.
More than 20.3 million people – at least 42 per cent of the population – now experience high levels of acute food insecurity, according to the latest Integrated Food Security Phase (IPC) projections.
“The situation is critical” and families are encountering “unimaginable suffering”, said Adam Yao, Deputy UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Representative in Sudan.
Speaking from Port Sudan via Zoom to journalists in Geneva, Mr; Yao said that compared to the results from the last IPC analysis conducted in May 2022, the number of highly food-insecure people will nearly double between July and September 2023.
Some 14 million people are facing “Crisis” levels of hunger (IPC Phase 3) and nearly 6.2 million people face “Emergency” levels of acute hunger (IPC Phase 4), Mr. Yao said.
The states most severely affected are those grappling with active conflict, including Khartoum, South and West Kordofan, along with Central, East, South and West Darfur, where “over half of the population is facing acute hunger”.
Latest displacement data indicates that some four million people have been displaced from Sudan in a little over 100 days, since fighting erupted between the Sudanese Army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), with Khartoum State remaining the epicentre of the conflict.
The UN agency said that critical infrastructure, including healthcare facilities, power sources and telecommunications had suffered significant damage, further exacerbating food insecurity and malnutrition. Market disruptions and soaring food prices have compounded the population's struggle to access essential goods and services.
Echoing the FAO concerns, Eddie Rowe, World Food Programme (WFP) Country Director for Sudan, pointed out that in the nearly four months since the conflict started, their “grim prediction” had come true, that hunger would rise to engulf more than 19 million people. Mr. Rowe described the operating environment in Sudan as “the most challenging that I have experienced in my career”, with the need to gain access to people in need of life-saving food assistance becoming “more challenging and increasingly urgent”.
On a positive note, the WFP spokesperson said that there was a major breakthrough last week when, for the first time, the agency delivered food assistance in West Darfur State. He explained that “a convoy of five trucks transporting 125 metric tonnes of food commodities travelled from eastern Chad to West Darfur where we were able to assist about 15,400 people in three villages”.
Mr. Rowe said that he hoped that the route from Chad will become “a regular humanitarian corridor to reach these families in West Darfur, especially in Geneina – the capital of West Darfur - but more importantly inwards into Zalingei in central Darfur, where lives have been torn apart by the violence”.
Mr. Yao also explained that the FAO has managed to procure 8,840 tonnes of cereal (sorghum and millet) and okra seed, despite the complex security conditions. These have reached more than half a million farming households across the country. The FAO aims to reach up to one million farmers in time for the planting season, in order to produce enough cereal to cover the needs of up to 19 million people for a year. The spokesperson pointed out that FAO became “the first UN agency to reach West Kordofan and East Darfur since the conflict began and has managed to distribute the seed to farmers through its local partners”. He explained that this milestone has facilitated access to North and South Darfur, allowing FAO to broaden its assistance to vulnerable communities.
Mr Yao. added that the success of the campaign is a reminder of “the importance of agriculture as a cost-efficient front-line humanitarian intervention to reduce vulnerability and strengthen food and nutrition security.”
ENDS
STORY: Steps away from famine in Sudan - FAO - WFP
TRT: 03’35”
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH /NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 11 AUGUST 2023, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
- Exterior wide shot, United Nations flag flying.
- Wide shot, panel at briefing.
- SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH) Adam Yao, Deputy FAO Representative in Sudan:
- “The food security situation in the country is deeply alarming. According to the latest IPC report, the July to September 2023 projection is nearly double the number of food-insecure people compared to the last IPC analysis conducted in May 2022.”
- Mid shot, attendees at briefing.
- SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH) Adam Yao, Deputy FAO Representative in Sudan: “20.3 million people across Sudan, over 42 per cent of the population now face high level of acute food insecurity, making this one of the most food-insecure countries on the planet. More than 6.2 million people are categorized at emergency level IPC phase four - steps away from famine.”
- Close of journalists typing.
- SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH) Adam Yao, Deputy FAO Representative in Sudan: “The situation is critical. A state like Khartoum, South and West Kordofan and parts of Darfur are the hardest hit, with over half the population facing acute hunger. Families are facing unimaginable suffering. And I've seen the impact of this conflict with my very eyes.”
- Mid-side view of attendees at briefing.
- SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH) Adam Yao, Deputy FAO Representative in Sudan: “FAO was the first UN agency to reach West Kordofan and East Darfur since the conflict began and has managed to distribute the seed to farmers through its local partners. This milestone has facilitated access to North and South Darfur, allowing FAO to broader its assistance to vulnerable communities.”
- Mid of attendee at briefing.
- SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH) Adam Yao, Deputy FAO Representative in Sudan: “The success of the campaign is a reminder of the importance of agriculture as a cost-efficient front-line humanitarian intervention to reduce vulnerability and strengthen food and nutrition security.”
- Mid-side view of journalists with screen in background.
- SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH) Eddie Rowe, WFP Country Director for Sudan: “ Last week, we had a major breakthrough: for the first time WFP was able to deliver food assistance in West Darfur State. We had a convoy of about five trucks that transported 125 metric tons of food commodities from eastern Chad to west Darfur, where we were able to assist about 15,400 people in three villages.”
- Mid of panel at the briefing.
- SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH) Eddie Rowe, WFP Country Director for Sudan: “We do hope that this route from Chad will become a regular humanitarian corridor to allow us to reach these families in Western Darfur, who particularly in Geneina, the capital of West Darfur, but more importantly inwards into Zalingei in central Darfur, where lives have been torn apart by violence.”
- Close of attendee at briefing.
- Mid-side view of attendees at briefing.
- Mid-side view of laptop screen.
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , HRC
Volker Türk, the UN Human Rights High Commissioner, made the following remarks during a briefing to a Special Session on Iran at the Human Rights Council.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNRWA , UNOPS , UNIS
Amid the launch of President Trump's Board of Peace and reconstruction talks on Gaza, UN aid agencies insisted on Friday that what Gazans need most is immediate relief from the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe there.
2
6
1
2
Edited News , Press Conferences , Images | HRC
At UN, war crimes probe pledges to continue to work for all impacted by Hamas-Israel conflict
As President Trump launched the international Board of Peace plan for Gaza on Thursday, top independent rights experts tasked by the UN Human Rights Council with investigating grave abuses linked to the Hamas-Israel war pledged to continue their work seeking justice and accountability for all.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights Office Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said Tuesday UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk was outraged by the repeated large-scale attacks by the Russian Federation on energy infrastructure in Ukraine.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
UN warns against repeating abuses in South Kordofan that occurred in El Fasher.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UNICEF
Mozambique floods heighten disease, malnutrition risks – UN agencies
Catastrophic flooding in Mozambique is causing massive disruption to lives and livelihoods across the country, increasing the risk of disease and exposing urban areas to crocodiles, UN humanitarians warned on Tuesday.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | OCHA
Yemen: Children are dying and it’s going to get worse, aid veteran warns
In Yemen, renewed political instability threatens and economic woes linked to the war to complicate the already difficult task of helping vulnerable people suffering from deepening hunger, illness and displacement, the UN's top aid official there said on Monday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF , IFRC
Ukraine: Families in ‘survival mode’ amid Russian strikes and -18°C cold
Families across Ukraine are in “constant survival mode” amid ongoing waves of Russian missile and drone strikes that have left blocks without power for days at a time, while temperatures plunge to a deadly -18°C (-0.4°F), the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
At the bi-weekly press conference in Geneva, UN Human Rights Spokesperson Jeremy Laurence urges Iranian authorities to end violent repression and calls for accountability.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF
Gaza: A ceasefire that ‘still buries children’ is not enough, says UNICEF
Airstrikes, drone strikes and hypothermia are among the lethal conditions prevailing in Gaza despite the ceasefire, with more than 100 children killed since early October, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
At the UN bi-weekly press conference in Geneva, UN Human Rights Spokesperson Marta Hurtado commented on the widespread repression and intimidation against political opposition ahead of the general elections in Uganda.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UNICEF
Aid agencies marked 1,000 days of war in Sudan on Friday with a grim reminder that the conflict has created the world’s biggest hunger crisis and largest displacement emergency. Every day, civilians have been “paying the price for a war they did not choose”, said the UN aid coordination office, OCHA.