Anjali Sharma
GG News Bureau
UNITED NATIONS, 21st March. Ms Edem Wosornu of the UN humanitarian affairs officeon Wednesday briefed the members of the Security Council told that 11 months of brutal fighting is driving a hunger crisis in Sudan with some areas likely to experience catastrophic levels of food insecurity by May.
“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 meeting was convened after OCHA’s submission of a white paper on food insecurity in Sudan last Friday.
The Council resolution in 2018 requests the UN Secretary-General to promptly report when the risk of conflict-induced famine and widespread food insecurity occurs.
Sudanese army and Rapid Security Forces ongoing fighting has left 18 million people facing acute food insecurity.
The majority are in conflict hotspots in the Darfur and Kordofan region, and in Khartoum and Al Jazirah states.
OCHA said that fighting has restricted agricultural production, damaged major infrastructure, caused prices to spiral and disrupted trade flows, among other devastating impacts.
Maurizio Martina, Deputy Director-General of the FAO reported that hostilities are expanding across southeastern states, the country’s breadbasket, responsible for half of all wheat production.
FAO report issued this week showed that cereal production last year dropped by 46 per cent.
“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,” he said.
Over 730,000 people in Sudan are suffering from malnutrition is soaring to alarming rates and already claiming young lives.
Ms. Wosornu cited a report from Médecins Sans Frontières which revealed that a child is dying every two hours at the 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.
She added that the aid should be “a lifeline” in Sudan, and the humanitarians continue to face obstacles in reaching people in need.
Council adopted a resolution which called for full and unhindered humanitarian access in Sudan “there has not been major progress on the ground.”
Ms. Wosornu said humanitarians have welcomed Sudan’s announcement to allow aid into the country through the Tine border crossing with Chad, although procedures have yet to be elaborated.
She said that the authorities have nagreed to allow 60 trucks to enter through Adre in Chad into West Darfur and a convoy carrying aid that includes food for more than 175,000 people is being prepared for deployment in the coming days.
“These are positive steps, but they are far from enough in the face of looming famine,” she added.
She stressed the need for crossline aid delivery within Sudan, as well as greater protection for humanitarian staff and supplies.
Deputy Executive Director of WFP Carl Skau highlighted the wider regional context of the hunger crisis.
He said 7 million people in South Sudan and 3 million in Chad are facing acute food insecurity.
WFP teams have been working in Sudan to meet the massive needs, assisting some 8 million people last year but their operations are being hampered by the lack of both access and resources.
“If we are going to prevent Sudan from becoming the world’s largest hunger crisis, coordinated efforts and joined-up diplomacy is urgent and critical. We need all parties to provide unrestricted access across borders and across conflict lines,” Mr. Skau said.
He earned that rising hunger will only stoke instability across the region.
Mr. Skau appealed for a rapid scale-up in financial and political support for emergency relief operations in Sudan.
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