Hunger, disease and displacement threaten to destroy Sudan as war spreads throughout the country, fueling “a humanitarian emergency of epic proportions,” the United Nations humanitarian chief said today. Martin Griffiths, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, also warned that “a protracted conflict in Sudan could tip the entire region into a humanitarian catastrophe.”
“The longer this fighting continues, the more devastating its impact is going to be,” Griffiths said in a statement issued Friday.
He said the conflict, which has ravaged the capital, Khartoum, and Darfur since April 15, has spread to Kordofan.
“In South Kordofan’s capital, Kadugli, food stocks have been fully depleted, as clashes and road blockages prevent aid workers from reaching the hungry. In West Kordofan’s capital, El Fula, humanitarian offices have been ransacked and supplies looted”, he said.
The UN humanitarian chief expressed concern about the safety of civilians in Al Jazirah province, the breadbasket of Sudan, as the conflict moved closer to that area.
“Some places have already run out of food. Hundreds of thousands of children are severely malnourished and at imminent risk of death if left untreated,” he said
Griffiths also warned that vector-borne diseases are spreading, posing a lethal risk, especially to those already weakened by malnutrition. Cases of measles, malaria, whooping cough, dengue fever, and acute watery diarrhea were being reported across the country.
“Most people have no access to medical treatment. The conflict has decimated the health care sector, with most hospitals out of service”, the Emergency Relief Coordinator said.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 67 percent of all main hospitals are out of service, and hospitals that remain fully or partially functional risk closing for lack of medical staff, supplies, water and electricity.
Since violence erupted in a power grab between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in mid-April, more than 4.7 million people have been displaced. While nearly one million people have crossed borders into neighboring countries, more than 3.7 million people – Sudanese and refugees already residing in the country - are displaced within Sudan.
The major hosting countries include the Central African Republic, Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, and South Sudan. According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), nearly 76 percent of the people internally displaced are from Khartoum.
Griffiths warned that many impoverished host communities are struggling, and that “a protracted conflict in Sudan could tip the entire region into a humanitarian catastrophe.”
“It is well past time for all those fighting in this conflict to put the people of Sudan above the pursuit of power or resources. Humanity must prevail. Civilians need life-saving assistance now; humanitarians need access and funding to deliver it. The international community needs to respond with the urgency this crisis deserves”, the Emergency Relief Coordinator stressed.
On Thursday, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) reported the conflict has uprooted at least 2 million children from their homes. As violence continues to ravage the country, over 1.7 million children are estimated to be on the move within Sudan’s borders and more than 470,000 have crossed into neighboring countries.
With nearly 14 million children in urgent need of humanitarian support, UNICEF said many children face multiple threats, including acute hunger, malnutrition, lack of clean water and live-threatening diseases.
“With over two million children uprooted by the conflict in only a few months, and countless more trapped in its merciless grip, the urgency of our collective response cannot be overstated,” said Mandeep O’Brien, UNICEF Country Representative in Sudan.
“We are hearing unimaginable stories from children and families, some of whom lost everything and had to watch their loved ones die in front of their eyes. We said it before, and we are saying it again: we need peace now for children to survive.”
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification in Sudan (IPC) report estimates that 20.3 million people will be food insecure between July and September 2023 and expected to further exacerbate close to 10 million children’s health and nutrition status.
The UN Children's Fund said almost 700,000 children with severe acute malnutrition are at high risk of not surviving without treatment, 1.7 million babies risk missing critical lifesaving vaccinations and an entire generation of children will likely miss out on education.
Also Thursday, the international humanitarian organization Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF, Doctors Without Borders) reported that tens of thousands of people are trapped by indiscriminate attacks in Nyala, South Darfur State.
“A tragedy is unfolding in Nyala, South Darfur, as fighting continues to rage, with targeted and indiscriminate attacks against civilians reaching catastrophic levels, and all roads in and out of the area effectively cut off by the fighting”, Anna Bylund, MSF emergency coordinator, said.
According to the IOM, an estimated 50,000 people were displaced by recent clashes between the SAF and RSF in Nyala Town, the state capital of South Darfur.
MSF staff reported distressing stories about being forced to bury their neighbors, family and friends after they were killed in the last few days, during a surge in fighting in Nyala where spaces like markets and residential areas have been reportedly turned into battlegrounds.
“We have also been told that armed fighters have stormed homes and hidden inside, effectively using civilians as human shields and leaving them with no protected spaces”, Bylund said.
Humanitarian needs across the Sudan and in neighboring countries continue to rise as the situation deteriorates. The number of people in need of humanitarian aid stands now at 24.7 million people – more than half of Sudan’s population. Among them are more than 13 million children in urgent need of lifesaving humanitarian support.
Hunger has reached record levels, with more than 20.3 million people across the country, over 42 percent of the population, facing acute hunger, including 6.3 million who are “one step away from famine.” According to the latest IPC food assessment in Sudan, the number of people projected to be food insecure between July and September has nearly doubled from the last analysis, conducted in May 2022.
The revised 2023 Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) for Sudan calls for 2.6 billion US Dollar to provide lifesaving assistance to an estimated 18.1 million people by the end of this year. As of August 25, the HRP is only 26 percent funded. Of the 566 million US Dollar needed for the Regional Refugee Response Plan (RRP), only 31 percent has been raised.
Further information
Full text: War and hunger could destroy Sudan - Statement by Martin Griffiths, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, statement, published August 25, 2023
https://reliefweb.int/report/sudan/war-and-hunger-could-destroy-sudan-statement-martin-griffiths-under-secretary-general-humanitarian-affairs-and-emergency-relief-coordinator-enar
Full text: More than two million children displaced by brutal conflict in Sudan as violence spreads to new areas, UNICEF, press release, published August 24, 2023
https://www.unicef.org/mena/press-releases/more-two-million-children-displaced-brutal-conflict-sudan-violence-spreads-new-areas
Full text: People trapped by indiscriminate attacks in Nyala, South Darfur, MSF statement, published August 24, 2023
https://www.msf.org/sudan-people-trapped-indiscriminate-attacks-nyala-south-darfur