The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) reported on Friday that it had made some breakthroughs in humanitarian access in recent weeks, reaching regions in Sudan that had been largely cut off from aid, including people facing or at risk of famine. WFP stressed the importance of pre-positioning food close to vulnerable populations now, as the rainy season is just weeks away, which will make it extremely difficult for large trucks to travel.
Sudan is facing the world's largest hunger crisis as a result of the war that erupted two years ago. Across the country, nearly 25 million people - or half the population - face acute hunger. Nearly 5 million children and breastfeeding mothers are acutely malnourished. Sudan is the only place in the world where famine has been confirmed in multiple areas, and famine continues to spread.
“In March, WFP reached 4 million people across Sudan - the highest monthly figure since the conflict began in April 2023 and nearly four times the number of people we were assisting per month at the same time one year ago,” Samatha Chattaraj, WFP’s Emergency Coordinator for Sudan, told journalist in Geneva on Friday.
"This includes 1.6 million people in areas classified as famine or at risk of famine – meaning in the last month we’ve supported four out of five people in these extreme levels of hunger across all of the 27 localities facing famine or risk."
Chattaraj spoke via video link from Port Sudan, where she returned this week from a mission to the capital, Khartoum. There, she met with local authorities to expand emergency food and nutrition assistance to one million people in Greater Khartoum next month.
“This can’t happen soon enough as it includes many areas at high risk of famine,” the WFP official said.
“What I saw was absolutely devastating. Vast parts of the city are destroyed. Levels of hunger and desperation are extremely high – yet people remain hopeful. We expect that many will try to return to their homes in the coming months. But their basic needs – including food – need to be met.”
Chattaraj said WFP food distributions for 100,000 people have just begun in Jabal Awlia, an area south of Khartoum that is at high risk of famine.
“These trucks arrived last week and are the first aid deliveries into Jabal Awlia since last December”, she said.
“Additional aid deliveries are en route to greater Khartoum over the coming weeks as we push to establish a stronger operational footprint that will allow regular deliveries to the capital.”
In another development, WFP delivered nearly 800 metric tons of food aid to famine-affected areas in the Western Nuba Mountains, supporting 64,000 people. These were the first in-kind food deliveries to the area since the start of the war two years ago.
On April 15, 2023, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) launched a brutal war that has caused an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe. More than 30 million people, including more than 16 million children, are in need of urgent humanitarian assistance.
Some 13 million people have been forced to flee their homes since the war began in 2023, and more than 4 million of them have crossed into neighboring countries. The ongoing conflict has claimed an estimated 150,000 lives.
Catastrophic humanitarian situation in North Darfur
The UN agency said additional trucks carrying 1,600 metric tons of food and nutritional supplies for 220,000 people have begun arriving in Tawila, North Darfur. Another WFP convoy from Port Sudan is currently en route to El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur State, carrying 1,000 tons of aid for some 100,000 people in the besieged city.
“Reports from the ground are shocking. It is deeply disturbing that around 450,000 people who were already facing famine and enduring horrific levels of violence have been forced to flee from El Fasher and Zamzam camp in just a matter of weeks,” said Chattaraj.
Hundreds of thousands of civilians in El Fasher, Tawila and other parts of North Darfur face an increasingly catastrophic humanitarian situation.
Heavy fighting broke out in El Fasher between the SAF and the RSF about a year ago, and in recent months there have been intense clashes in and around the town, including deliberate attacks on civilians, the burning of residential areas, and indiscriminate bombing and shelling.
The RSF, which has been besieging and shelling the town of El Fasher for the past twelve months, has intensified its offensive in recent weeks, including attacks on the Zamzam camp.
Earlier this month, large-scale atrocities involving hundreds of civilian deaths and mass displacement were reported from the Zamzam displacement camp, following news reports that armed groups affiliated with the Rapid Support Forces attacked Zamzam and took control of the camp.
Zamzam was Sudan's largest camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs), hosting more than 500,000 women, children and men before the recent attacks, and was one of three displacement sites in the El Fasher region where famine conditions were found.
An estimated 400,000-500,000 people have fled Zamzam, seeking safety and shelter in El Fasher and the towns of Tawila and Dar As Salam, with additional reports of displaced people arriving in Central Darfur State.
Humanitarian agencies on the ground say Zamzam camp is nearly empty, with almost all of its several hundred thousand residents having fled elsewhere. Many of the recently displaced had been trapped by the conflict in El Fasher or Zamzam for months.
WFP said it was doing all it could to help people, even in the face of escalating violence. Last month, 270,000 people in El Fasher and Zamzam received assistance from the UN agency.
The massive influx of displaced people into host communities and towns, where needs are already high, is putting critical pressure on health services, water infrastructure and local food systems across North Darfur.
“We are mobilizing assistance to reach people wherever they have fled to – across different parts of Darfur and Northern State,” Chattaraj said.
Prepositioning food aid before the rains set in
WFP notes that its aid deliveries still represent "just a fraction of the need". The UN agency's goal is to reach 7 million people by mid-year, focusing on the 27 areas classified as famine and famine risk as well as those with emergency food insecurity (IPC 4).
“We have also delivered mobile warehouses to Tawila. These are being set up now to increase storage capacity so we can pre-stock food. This is vital ahead of the rainy season, which starts in June and will leave many routes across the Darfur region impassable,” Chattaraj said.
“I cannot emphasize enough how important it is that we pre-position assistance close to populations in need now. We have just a few weeks to do this before the rains start and will make it very difficult for large trucks carrying food assistance to travel.”
But that progress was fragile, the official said. As WFP scaled up its response to the world's largest humanitarian crisis, it needed sustained humanitarian access to ensure a steady flow of aid to vulnerable populations, and additional funding to meet the overwhelming needs of the Sudanese people.
“Only then could the tide of famine be turned,” Chattaraj emphasized.
Responding to questions from the media, the WFP official said the funding cuts by the United States had not affected its operations in the country, as the allocations for Sudan remained intact. She added that WFP was very grateful for this and appealed to the United States to keep up its critical, life-saving assistance to Sudan.