High risk of famine in Sudan, UN says
A woman and baby at the Zamzam displacement camp in North Darfur, Sudan
50% of the population of Sudan is facing severe levels of hunger after nearly two years of war between the national army and paramilitary group RSF, a UN analysis announced on Tuesday 24th December 2024
The UN associated FRC, or Famine Review Committee concluded through the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) that food insecurity in Sudan is significantly worse now than in previous projections.
The IPC, which is an initiative backed by the UN, is for governments and NGOs to measure the scale of malnutrition and food insecurity and raise alarms about famine threats.
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Around 24.6 million people in Sudan are at risk of facing extreme levels of food insecurity over the next six months.
The data includes about 15.9 million people (33 percent) in IPC Phase 3 (Crisis), 8.1 million people (17 percent) in IPC Phase 4 (Emergency) and at least 638,000 people (1 percent) in IPC Phase 5 (Catastrophe).
Famine has been detected in at least five areas in Sudan, and was first found in August 2024 in North Darfur in Zamzam, and has now extended to al-Salam and Abu Shouk camps and the western Nuba mountains.
It is projected to expand to cover more localities in North Darfur including Um Kadadah, Melit, el-Fasher, At Tawisha and al-Lait.
Many areas in Darfur are expected to see high influxes of people displaced by the war between the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudan national army. Since April 2023, the conflict has displaced more than 11 million people and caused a spiralling humanitarian crisis.
Save the Children’s Sudan humanitarian director, Mary Lupul says that this worrying report is ‘a failure of the global system’, further elaborating on the threat to children, who are often the first victims of famine.
Middle East Eye
