Sudan suffering one of the “worst” humanitarian crises: UN

March 20, 2024 (NEW YORK) – Sudan is suffering one of the worst humanitarian crises in recent history after nearly a year of war, the United Nations has warned.

“As we approach the one-year anniversary of the conflict, we cannot make clearer the desperation that civilians are facing in Sudan,” said Edem Wosornu, the director of operations at the UN Office for the Coordination for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) told the Security Council at a briefing held on Wednesday.

Also, 18 million people or about a third of the population facing acute shortage.

According to the UN, the majority of those affected, are in the conflict hotspots in the Darfur and Kordofan region, in Khartoum and Al Jazirah states of Sudan.

Fighting has restricted agricultural production, damaged major infrastructure, caused prices to spiral and disrupted trade flows, among others impacts.

Wosornu cited a recent Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) report which revealed that a child is dying every two hours at Zamzam camp in El Fasher, North Darfur.

“Our humanitarian partners estimate that in the coming weeks and months, somewhere in the region of around 222,000 children could die from malnutrition,” she said.

Worsonu said aid workers continue to face obstacles in reaching people in need.

Earlier this month, the Security Council adopted a resolution calling for full and unhindered humanitarian access in Sudan as part of efforts to reach the needy.

The UN official, however, said “there has not been major progress on the ground.”

She further said that humanitarians have welcomed Sudan’s recent announcement to again allow aid into the country through the Tine border crossing with neighboring Chad, although procedures have yet to be elaborated.

The authorities have also agreed to allow 60 trucks to enter through Adre in Chad into West Darfur, and, she said, a convoy carrying aid that includes food for more than 175,000 people is being prepared for deployment in the coming days.

Meanwhile, Maurizio Martina, Deputy Director-General of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said hostilities are expanding across southeastern states, the country’s breadbasket, responsible for half of all wheat production.

A recent FAO report says cereal production dropped by nearly 46 per cent last year.

“Cereal import requirements in 2024, forecast at about 3.38 million tonnes, raise concerns about the financial and logistical capacity of the country to meet these import needs. And high production costs of cereals are likely to further inflate market prices, which are already at exceptionally high levels,” said Maurizio.

Currently, around 730,000 people in Sudan are reportedly suffering from malnutrition, which is soaring to alarming rates and already claiming young lives.

“These are positive steps, but they are far from enough in the face of looming famine,” said the FAO official while stressing the need for crossline aid delivery within Sudan, as well as greater protection for humanitarian staff and supplies.

Seven million people in South Sudan, and nearly three million in Chad, are also facing acute food insecurity, according to the World Food Programme (WFP).

The food agency said its teams have been working around the clock in Sudan to meet the massive needs, assisting some eight million people last year, but their operations are being hampered by the lack of both access and resources.

More than 8 million people have been displaced in the conflict between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since April 2023.

(ST)