[ad_1]
7 August 2024 (New York) – Political will and leadership will end famine in Sudan, where 26 million people face severe hunger, UN officials say.
“Our warnings were not heard,” said Stephen Omolo, assistant executive director for workplace and management at the World Food Programme (WFP).
Speaking to Security Council members on Tuesday, the official also recalled previous alerts from the World Food Programme about a widespread breakdown in food security across Sudan.
He said the World Food Programme’s Famine Review Committee had confirmed that famine had occurred in the Zam Zam refugee camp near El Fasher in North Darfur, and that Darfur and other areas were also at high risk, with more than half of Sudan’s population facing a hunger crisis.
Omolo accused all parties to the conflict of failing to uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law, routinely blocking requests for cross-border clearances and imposing restrictions on cross-border routes.
“Sudan is woefully underfunded,” he said, stressing the need for increased funding and more flexible funding to support a rapid scale-up of relief operations to save lives.
In a related vein, Edem Wosolnou, director of operations and advocacy at the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), said the war was a “man-made crisis and a shameful stain on our collective conscience.”
She said eastern Chad could easily deliver aid to people in the Zam Zam region, but heavy rains had flooded the Tine crossing, which is now the only authorized crossing between eastern Chad and Darfur since Sudanese authorities withdrew permission to use the more efficient Adre crossing.
“Aid delayed is aid denied,” Wosonu noted, stressing that “it is still possible to stop this train of suffering that is passing through Sudan.”
The senior UN official expressed concern that the Sudan humanitarian appeal was only 32% funded, with only $874 million received out of the $2.7 billion required.
The members of the Security Council reiterated their call for an immediate ceasefire between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
They further supported the call for rapid, safe and unimpeded humanitarian access to Sudan through all possible means and with additional financial resources.
At the same time, the US representative also highlighted the suffering brought to women and children by the ongoing war in Sudan and called for an end to the war in Sudan.
“Families fleeing the horrific violence have been starving for months, children have been eating dirt and leaves to survive, and babies are dying of starvation every day,” he said.
The Sudanese Armed Forces have been accused of restricting access to supplies through the key Adre crossing point, and there are concerns that humanitarian corridors will be blocked.
However, the US representative called on both sides to remove barriers to aid and allow the free flow of much-needed food, water and medicine at multiple entry points, across borders and conflict lines.
“There is no military solution to this war,” he stressed, adding that “the toll of war can be seen in tragic civilian casualties, the displacement of millions, severe malnutrition, rape, torture and ethnic cleansing.”
According to the United Nations, about 25.6 million people in Sudan (more than half of the country’s total population) are facing severe hunger, of which 755,000 are on the brink of famine. In addition, about 10.7 million people are currently displaced within the country.
(English stone)
[ad_2]
Source link
