Sudan crisis at risk of worsening amid aid cuts

The UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) warned on October 15th that funding cuts could push 13.7 million people into extreme hunger, according to a report by The New Arab and agencies.

One of the countries worst affected by cuts is Sudan, where famine was first identified in 2024, and the number of children suffering from malnutrition in North Darfur has doubled since then.

In a report written by the Rome-based agency, it said: “WFP is facing a staggering 40 per cent reduction in funding, with projections of $6.4 billion compared to $9.8 billion in 2024.” The group expressed concerns that “the humanitarian system is under severe strain as partners pull back from frontline locations, creating a vacuum.”

The report explained: “Programme coverage has been slashed and rations cut. Life-saving assistance to households in Catastrophe (IPC Phase 5) is at risk, while preparedness for future shocks has dropped drastically.”

What’s more, research from The Lancet medical journal, suggested that cuts to US aid by President Donald Trump could lead to 14 million avoidable deaths by 2030.

Within Sudan, the city of El-Fasher in the country’s North Darfur region has experienced severe food shortages amid a siege imposed by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The paramilitary group controls a significant portion of the Darfur region, located in western Sudan; the siege has forced residents to flee to displaced persons camps, where food and medicine are scarce.

Community kitchens in El-Fasher were forced to close after food supplies ran out, and the RSF had blocked all humanitarian corridors leading to the city. The kitchens had previously been responsible for providing meals to more than 3000 people in the city; the RSF bombing also targeted alternative markets that residents had relied on as a source of food.

Yale University’s Humanitarian Research Lab (HRL) revealed on August 28th that the RSF had constructed barriers that surrounded El-Fasher, essentially locking all residents into the besieged city in what the HRL called a “literal kill box.” The barriers and blockage of humanitarian corridors have seriously obstructed any ability to get essential supplies into the area.

It was reported on April 25th that cuts to food aid forced the WFP to decrease food rations and scale back humanitarian aid in Sudan, despite areas at risk of famine already having their rations reduced to 70% of the standard daily calories. The civil war, which began in April 2023, has reportedly displaced millions of Sudanese civilians, while another 30 million people were on the brink of starvation.

On March 4th, it was reported that clashes between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group forced the WFP to suspend aid to the Zamzam Refugee Camp, located in Sudan’s North Darfur region.

The New Arab via Reuters and AFP, Maghrebi.org