Sudan slides deeper into famine, experts say
Sudan, devastated by war, is slipping deeper into a “widening famine crisis,” marked by escalating hunger and a sharp rise in acute malnutrition, according to an independent group of food security experts.
Famine has spread to five regions, with 24.6 million people—roughly half the population—urgently needing food assistance, the experts report.
The ongoing crisis has been triggered by the 20-month civil war, which has ravaged Sudan.
Efforts to mediate an end to the conflict between the military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have so far been unsuccessful.
In 2021, the army and RSF jointly orchestrated a coup, but a power struggle between their leaders escalated into a civil war in 2023.
The conflict has resulted in one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, with the UN-backed Famine Review Committee (FRC) warning that a “greater catastrophe” may unfold if the war continues.
The FRC is associated with the Integrated Food Phase Classification (IPC), a global initiative involving UN agencies, aid groups, and governments to monitor famine conditions.
On Monday, Sudan’s military-backed government announced it would suspend cooperation with the FRC, accusing the group of publishing “unreliable reports” that threaten Sudan’s sovereignty and dignity, according to Reuters.
The IPC had first reported famine in August at the Zamzam camp in Darfur, where around half a million people had sought refuge.
The FRC’s latest report reveals that famine has also affected the Abu Shouk and al-Salam camps in Darfur’s besieged city of el-Fasher, as well as two areas in South Kordofan state.
The FRC emphasized that famine represents the most extreme form of human suffering, signaling a catastrophic collapse of essential survival systems and resources.
“It is not merely a lack of food but a profound breakdown of health, livelihoods and social structures, leaving entire communities in a state of desperation,” it added.
The FRC predicted that five further areas in Darfur could face famine by May, and there was a risk of it spreading to 17 other areas.
“In areas of high conflict intensity, the hostilities severely disrupted farming activities, resulting in farmers abandoning their crops, looting and stock destruction,” it added.
Both Darfur and South Kordofan have been hit by some of the worst violence, with scores of civilians killed, raped and abducted by gunmen.
In May, US special envoy for Sudan Tom Perriello said that some estimates suggested up to 150,000 people had been killed in the conflict across the country.
