Sudan is facing a growing risk of famine in the coming months, with 19.5 million people experiencing high levels of acute food insecurity, according to a joint statement by EU and other Western ministers and senior officials.
About 41% of the country’s population is affected, including 5 million people facing emergency levels of food insecurity, the statement said, cited by the European External Action Service (EEAS).
Acute food insecurity means people do not have enough food in the short term and may face hunger-related illness.
The number of children suffering from severe acute malnutrition could exceed a projected 825,000 without immediate action.
The EEAS also said the number of food insecure areas — initially assessed at 14 — is expected to double.
Conflict, blocked aid and El Niño blamed
Conflict is the main driver of the hunger crisis, displacing millions of people, damaging infrastructure and disrupting healthcare, food production, supply chains and markets, according to the statement.
Systematic obstruction of aid has worsened conditions, it said.
El Niño has also contributed by reducing rainfall and increasing drought across more than half of Sudan, the signatories stated.
El Niño is a climate pattern that can shift rainfall and temperature and affect harvests.
The parties to the conflict bear primary responsibility for alleviating suffering, the statement said, calling for “full, safe, rapid, and unimpeded” humanitarian access and protection for aid workers.
The signatories also urged authorisation of humanitarian operations through crossline and cross-border routes, including air access into Darfur for rapid delivery of aid and medical evacuations of aid workers.
The statement called on the international community to scale up funding and support efforts to ensure assistance reaches those most in need, and encouraged development and financial institutions to adjust programmes to focus on areas of greatest need.
The signatories include ministers and officials from Australia, Canada, several European countries, the European Commission, the United States and the United Kingdom.
