Aid agency warns of hunger deaths in Sudan
July 15, 2024 (KHARTOUM) – An aid agency has warned that the war in Sudan has forced millions of people to flee their homes and created one of the world’s biggest humanitarian crises, amid fears more people are likely to die of hunger.
“There is no escape from suffering. It has been 15 months of uninterrupted violence and spiralling humanitarian crisis,” said Mathilde Vu, the Advocacy Manager for the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) in Sudan.
She added, “When it’s not bullets, it’s hunger that kills.”
In Sudan an estimated 7.3 million people have been displaced within the country since mid-April 2023 and two million more have crossed the border into neighbouring countries. Nearly 25 million people need humanitarian assistance.
More than half of Sudan’s population are experiencing crisis levels of hunger, while thousands of refugees in neighbouring countries are struggling to feed their children.
“People are already dying of hunger. Our colleagues on the ground in Darfur report that pregnant women are losing their children due to malnutrition, and children are dying of hunger on a daily basis,” Vu explained.
Sudan is reportedly the world’s largest hunger crisis, with more than half of the country currently experiencing severe food insecurity. This means people don’t have reliable access to food and sometimes go more than a day without eating.
This is expected to become much worse during the upcoming lean season.
“In some regions people are struggling to eat one meal a day and the majority depend on begging, charity, and relief items where available. Some people are selling their roofing to buy food,” says Vu.
The hunger crisis has heavily impacted on women and children in the country.
Also reported are high rates of malnutrition among children under five years.
But while food is available in markets, people cannot afford it, piling misery.
According to the aid agency, despite the magnitude of the crisis and its destabilising effect on the area between the Red Sea and the Sahel, Sudan remains grossly neglected by the international community.
“People are dying of hunger in the capital city. This should shock everyone,” said Vu, adding, “Together with other international aid organisations, we have regularly sounded the alarm that continued and escalating conflict and active denial of humanitarian access was driving Sudan to the brink of famine”.
Displaced families inside Sudan and in neighbouring countries are being left to fend for themselves. Many lack a roof over their heads, as well as food, water, healthcare, and education for their children.
“We are responding to the crisis and scaling up our programmes in both South Sudan and Chad. Together with local responders, the displaced people themselves and their host communities, we are working around the clock to save lives and cover basic needs,” stressed Vu.
In April 2024, the international community pledged $2.2 billion to address the suffering of the Sudanese people in Sudan and across the wider region. But the promises of solidarity and support by international donors remain largely unfulfilled. The Humanitarian Response Plan remains severely underfunded with only 17 per cent of the required funding received in the first six months of the year.
(ST)