[ad_1]
July 15, 2024 (Khartoum) – Sudan’s war has forced millions to flee their homes and created one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises, with fears that more people will die of hunger, an aid agency has warned.
“There is no escape from the suffering. The violence and humanitarian crisis have been going on for 15 months,” said Mathilde Vu, advocacy manager for Sudan at the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC).
She added: “If it’s not bullets, then it’s hunger that kills.”
In Sudan, an estimated 7.3 million people have been internally displaced and another 2 million have crossed borders into neighbouring countries since mid-April 2023. Nearly 25 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance.
More than half of Sudan’s population is facing a hunger crisis, while thousands of refugees in neighboring countries are struggling to feed their children.
“People are already starving to death. Our colleagues in Darfur report that pregnant women are losing their babies due to malnutrition and that children are dying of starvation every day,” Vu explained.
Sudan is reportedly the world’s largest famine crisis country, with more than half of the country currently facing severe food shortages, meaning people have no reliable access to food and sometimes go without eating for more than a day.
The situation is expected to get worse in the upcoming off-season.
“In some areas, people can’t even have one meal a day, and most people survive on begging, charity and handouts. Some sell their roofs to buy food,” Vu said.
The hunger crisis has severely affected women and children in the country.
The report also said malnutrition rates among children under five were high.
But even though there was food in the market, people could not afford it and their lives were in trouble.
The aid agency said Sudan continues to be severely neglected by the international community, despite the severity of the crisis and its destabilizing impact on the region between the Red Sea and the Sahel.
“People are dying of starvation in the capital. This should shock everyone,” Vu said, adding that “we, along with other international aid organizations, have regularly sounded the alarm that the continued escalation of conflict and the active denial of humanitarian aid are pushing Sudan to the brink of famine”.
Displaced families within Sudan and in neighbouring countries are left to fend for themselves. Many are homeless, without food, water, medical care or an education for their children.
“We are responding to the crisis and scaling up our programmes in South Sudan and Chad. Together with local aid workers, the displaced people themselves and their host communities, we are working around the clock to save lives and meet basic needs,” Vu stressed.
In April 2024, the international community pledged $2.2 billion to address the suffering of the Sudanese people in Sudan and across the region. But pledges of solidarity and support from international donors remain largely unfulfilled. The Humanitarian Response Plan remains severely underfunded, with only 17% of the required funds received in the first six months of this year.
(English stone)
[ad_2]
Source link
