UN officials call for political will to end famine in Sudan

August 7, 2024 (NEW YORK) – A United Nations official says political will and leadership will end famine in Sudan, where 26 million people face acute hunger.

“Our warnings have not been heard,” said Stephen Omollo, Assistant Executive Director for Workplace and Management of the World Food Programme (WFP).

Addressing members of the Security Council on Tuesday, the official also recalled previous WFP alerts about a widespread collapse in food security across Sudan.

He said WFP’s Famine Review Committee confirmed famine in Zamzam camp near El Fasher in North Darfur and that other areas in Darfur and elsewhere are at high risk, with more than half of Sudan’s population facing crisis levels of hunger.

Omollo accused the warring parties involved in the conflict of failing to meet their obligations under international humanitarian law by routinely blocking requests for cross-line clearances and imposing restrictions on cross-border routes.

“Sudan is critically underfunded,” he said, stressing the need for increased and flexible funding to support the rapid scale-up of the relief operations to save lives.

Relatedly, Edem Wosornu, Director of Operations and Advocacy of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) said the war is a “man-made crisis and a shameful stain on our collective conscience”.

She said relief supplies for people in Zamzam are readily available in eastern Chad, but heavy rains have flooded the Tine crossing, the only cross-border route currently permitted to use between east Chad and Darfur after the Sudanese authorities revoked permission for the use of the more effective Adre crossing.

“Assistance delayed is assistance denied,” noted Worsonu, emphasizing that “it is still possible to stop this freight train of suffering that is charging through Sudan”.

The senior UN official expressed concerns that Sudan humanitarian appeal is just 32 per cent funded, having received $874 million out of the $2.7 billion needed.

Members of the Security Council reiterated calls for an immediate ceasefire between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

They further backed the demands for rapid, safe and unimpeded humanitarian access across Sudan through all possible routes and more financial resources.

Meanwhile, the representative of the United States also highlighted the plight of women and children affected by the ongoing war in Sudan, calling for its ending.

“Families who fled horrific violence have been going hungry for months, children have been eating dirt and leaves, and, every day, babies have been starving to death,” he said.

Concerns were raised about blocking humanitarian corridors, amid accusations that SAF was restricting access to supplies through the critical the Adre crossing.

The representative of the United States, however, called on both parties to remove aid barriers and allow desperately needed food, water and medicine to flow freely and at multiple entry points across borders and conflict lines.

“There is no military solution to this war,” he stressed, adding that “the toll is being measured in the tragic loss of civilian lives, displacement of millions from their homes, acute malnourishment, rape, torture and ethnic cleansing”.

According to the UN, about 25.6 million people or over half of the population of Sudan face acute hunger, including more than 755,000 people on the brink of famine. Also, an estimated 10.7 million people are now internally displaced in Sudan.

(ST)