The World Food Programme (WFP) warned on Tuesday that famine is threatening several areas south of Khartoum, Sudan’s capital, and called for immediate international intervention.
WFP has noted “severe” levels of hunger in Djebel Aulia, a town located about 40 kilometres south of Khartoum, Laurent Bukera, WFP’s director in Sudan, urged, speaking via video conference from Port Sudan during a regular UN briefing.
“The needs are immense,” Mr Bukera stressed after his return from Khartoum State, where the WFP has established a new base in Omdurman, Khartoum’s sister city on the opposite bank of the Nile.
“We witnessed widespread destruction, limited access to water, healthcare, and electricity, as well as a cholera outbreak," he reported. “While life resumes in certain city areas, many neighbourhoods remain deserted, resembling a ghost town.”
Noting that several areas south of the city face a high risk of famine, he urged the international community to “act immediately by increasing funding to halt famine in the worst-affected areas and investing in Sudan’s reconstruction.”
Since April 2023, Sudan has been embroiled in a power struggle between its regular army and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) rebels. The war has claimed tens of thousands of lives and triggered the world’s most severe humanitarian crisis, according to the UN.
The hunger, misery, and desperation observed in Djebel Aulia are severe, confirming the famine risk, according to WFP.
Mr Bukera warned that as displaced people return to heavily damaged areas like Khartoum, the strain on already overburdened resources will intensify.
The situation “deeply concerns” WFP, which finds it “crucial and urgent” to meet the fundamental needs of the population, especially food.
Famine has already been declared in five areas across Sudan, including three displacement camps near El Fasher in the southwest.
Due to a lack of reliable data, the UN has not been able to officially declare famine in El Fasher itself, the last regional capital in Darfur not to have fallen to the RSF, but that does not mean people are not already dying of malnutrition.
Nearly 25 million people in Sudan suffer from severe food insecurity.
