Severe acute food insecurity has increased massively since the start of the war in Sudan, leaving more than half of the country hungry. The Food Security and Livelihoods Cluster (FSLC) said in an advocacy note released on Monday that urgent action, resources and funding are needed to prevent further deterioration and escalation of needs.
In its report, the humanitarian coordination group warned that immediate measures are needed to prevent the spread of hunger in Sudan.
“Without the immediate allocation of resources and a ceasefire, millions of highly food insecure people will see their conditions deteriorate to near catastrophe levels, or worse be simply left with no assistance at all,” it said.
For more than 16 months, the people of Sudan have endured the humanitarian impact of a devastating conflict - with no end in sight. As fighting, hunger and disease advance, more than half the population is now in need of humanitarian assistance.
Sudan is today the world's largest hunger crisis, with more than half of the country's population - nearly 26 million people - facing high levels of acute hunger, including some 755,000 on the brink of famine. Famine has been confirmed in the Zamzam camp in North Darfur, with other areas at risk. Nearly 5 million children under the age of 5 and pregnant and lactating women are already acutely malnourished.
Thousands more are likely to face similar conditions in 13 other famine-prone areas identified in the latest IPC analysis. The situation is particularly critical for people trapped in conflict-affected areas, especially Al Jazira, Darfur, Khartoum and Kordofan.
The FSLC warns that the escalating conflict is causing massive displacement, multidimensional stress - economic, physiological, psychological, socio-cultural - and endangering humanitarian workers and assets.
With access restrictions a major obstacle, negotiations are needed to allow for needs assessments and the delivery of life-saving assistance in hard-to-reach key hotspots where needs are most concentrated.
According to the advocacy note, disruptions to the banking system and communication constraints are limiting operational capacity on the ground. Supply chain and local markets are disrupted, and inflation is soaring with record high food and fuel prices, transportation costs, and lower incomes.
It highlights that food security and livelihoods partners are facing alarming spikes in operational costs, which are severely hampering the implementation of the response and forcing partners to constantly seek innovative ways to deliver assistance.
The humanitarian coordination group reports that the unprecedented scale of needs, combined with exceptionally high programmatic costs, is outpacing available financial resources and hampering the ability to deliver humanitarian assistance.
The FSLC urges the international community to scale up the humanitarian response in Sudan. It calls on the global community to mobilize funding, provide emergency food assistance, support agriculture and livelihoods, restore humanitarian access, distribute full rations in hunger hotspots, and ensure up-to-date data for decision-making.
It also states that collaboration between sectors (clusters) - particularly Food Security and Livelihoods (FSL), Health, Nutrition, and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) - must be strengthened to effectively address famine-like conditions.
The Food Security and Livelihoods Cluster (FSLC), jointly led by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP), coordinates the food security response during and after a humanitarian crisis. It is part of the broader humanitarian response system designed to ensure an organized and effective approach to addressing food security and livelihoods in affected communities.
A humanitarian cluster, also known as a cluster system or cluster approach, is a coordination mechanism used in humanitarian action to ensure a well-coordinated and effective response to a humanitarian crisis or emergency. A cluster is formed by a group of humanitarian organizations, both UN and non-UN agencies, working together to address a specific sector or area of response in an emergency.
Sudan faces not only the world's largest hunger crisis, but also the world's largest displacement crisis, two crises that together make up the world's largest humanitarian crisis, yet the emergency receives little media attention and the humanitarian response is woefully underfunded.
The Sudan Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan for 2024 calls for US$2.7 billion to reach 14.7 million people by the end of this year. It is currently only half funded at 51 percent. This year's Sudan Regional Refugee Response Plan (RRP) requires $1.5 billion to support 3.3 million refugees, returnees and host communities in seven countries bordering Sudan. The RRP is currently only 27 percent funded.
The number of people in need of humanitarian assistance now stands at 24.8 million. Among those in need are more than 14 million children. Tens of thousands more have been killed or injured since the conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) erupted in April 2023.
More than 11.3 million people have been newly displaced since clashes between the two warring factions began. The majority of internally displaced people (IDPs) - 55 percent - are children under the age of 18. Overall, more than 20 percent of Sudan's population has fled their homes, either internally or across borders, due to the ongoing war.
While more than 8.4 million people - Sudanese and refugees already living in the country - are displaced within Sudan, more than 2.9 million women, men and children have sought refuge in other countries.
Most Sudanese seek refuge in the seven countries bordering the northeastern African nation, including Egypt, South Sudan, Chad, Ethiopia, Libya and the Central African Republic. Egypt hosts the largest number of people fleeing Sudan at 1.2 million, followed by South Sudan with more than 800,000 - many of them South Sudanese returning after many years. Chad has seen the largest influx of refugees in its history, with some 680,000 people crossing the border.
As of October 2024, more than 11 million women, men, and children were internally displaced, including 2.8 million displaced before April 2023, making Sudan the largest internal displacement crisis in the world. At least 500,000 Sudanese had fled to neighboring countries before the conflict escalated.
The total number of Sudanese refugees is now estimated at over 3.4 million. In total, some 14.4 million people have been displaced by conflicts in Sudan. This makes Sudan by far the largest displacement crisis in the world.
Attacks on health care services continue to be reported throughout the country. Since the outbreak of war in April 2023, WHO has verified 109 attacks on health care - including on health facilities, ambulances and transport, assets, patients and health workers - resulting in 183 deaths and 125 injuries.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), nearly 15 million people need urgent health assistance to survive. Less than 25 percent of health facilities are functioning in the Sudanese states most affected by the war, and only 45 percent of such facilities are fully functional in other states. Hospitals that remain fully or partially functional are at risk of closing due to lack of medical staff, supplies, water, and electricity.
Further information
Full text: Severe food insecurity at risk of escalating: Sudan is facing the world's largest hunger crisis, Food Security and Livelihood Cluster (FSLC), advocacy note, released October 14, 2024
https://fscluster.org/sites/default/files/2024-10/Sudan%20Advocacy%20October%2024.pdf