Over 750,000 people at risk of starvation in Sudan: report

June 30, 2024 (KHARTOUM) – The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) said more than 755,000 people are facing “catastrophe”, the most severe level of extreme hunger.

The assessment also shows that an additional 8.5 million people, or 18 percent of the population, grapple with food shortages that could result in acute malnutrition and death.

The conflict started in April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

An increase in fighting would further restrict aid access to threatened areas, the United Nations’ hunger monitoring system said, warning of the realistic chance of famine in several areas including parts of Darfur, Khartoum, Kordofan and Gezira states.

The IPC said approximately 25.6 million people are likely to experience high levels of acute food insecurity between June and September.

Since the IPC warning system was created 20 years ago, famines have only been declared twice: in parts of Somalia in 2011 and in parts of South Sudan in 2017

More than 10 million people have been displaced within Sudan, according to data from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in June, and 7.26 million people have fled their homes.

This adds to the 2.83 million individuals already displaced by previous conflicts.

More than a quarter of Sudan’s 48 million residents have now been forced to flee their homes, with more than two million crossing international borders.

(ST)