Sudan’s famine threat intensifies…International warnings continue

International organizations and agencies working in relief and humanitarian aid around the world continue to sound the alarm and warning about the reality of the humanitarian situation in Sudan and the increasingly urgent need for essential and life-saving food supplies.
As regional and international efforts continue to reach a solution to end the conflict and halt the deteriorating humanitarian situation, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has called for an end to the conflict in Sudan and the need to scale up conflict assistance to meet immediate needs and avoid famine and the risk of it spreading to other areas.
“We are witnessing horrific famine conditions in parts of North Darfur, while the risk of famine is increasing in other areas affected by the conflict, notably South Kordofan, Khartoum and Gezira,” the organization’s director-general Qu Dongyu said in a statement. “We need urgent and coordinated action to prevent an even greater catastrophe,” he added, stressing that peace is a fundamental condition for food security and the right to food is a fundamental human right.
According to the World Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), about 65% of Sudanese work in the agricultural sector, which is “on the front line of the conflict,” especially in the state of Jazira, which has Sudan’s largest agricultural project. The area is a project of Al-Jazeera and Al-Manaqil, covering more than 2 million acres, and the project produces many crops that are the staple food of the Sudanese people. Various varieties of wheat and corn, as well as all vegetables.
Sudan’s agricultural sector, both rain-fed and irrigated, has suffered severe damage and disruption due to intense fighting near production areas, with continuing worrying consequences for food security and nutrition.
FAO stressed that expanding the scope of life-saving food and cash assistance is critical for people facing severe food shortages, although its supplies are insufficient to fill the gap caused by local aid cuts.
The organization stressed that urgent and expanded measures are urgently needed not only to reverse the dire famine conditions in Darfur, but also to support communities suffering from severe food insecurity across Sudan, especially those affected by the protracted conflict.
Information from the Famine Review Committee, the main global body analyzing food crises, indicates that famine exists in the Zam Zam refugee camp in North Darfur, Sudan, for the third time using the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification.
The commission defines famine as occurring when, in any given area, at least 20 percent of households face severe food shortages, at least 30 percent of children are severely malnourished, and the daily mortality rate exceeds two per 10,000 people, the data shows.
Zam Zam camp is one of the largest internally displaced persons camps in Sudan, hosting more than 500,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs), with some estimates putting the number at 800,000, and more displaced persons are still pouring into the camp when it rains. Floodwaters threaten to contaminate water and sanitation facilities within the camp.
“The main causes of famine in Zamzam refugee camp are conflict and lack of humanitarian access,” the commission wrote in its newly released report, as warring factions block food and other humanitarian aid from entering the camp.