Arab and African states warn of dire food situation in Sudan

Nation is facing the 'worst levels of acute food insecurity ever recorded in the country'

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  Malnourished Sudanese children are carried by a donkey through a camp in North Kordofan state for people displaced by the war raging across the country. All photos: AFP

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  The conflict has displaced more than 10 million people within Sudan, the International Organisation for Migration says.

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  The UN estimates that five million Sudanese are suffering from extreme hunger, with countries hosting refugees from the war also facing a lack of food.

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  The US has warned hunger in Sudan could reach levels last seen in Ethiopia in the 1980s, when famine killed 1.2 million.

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  People wait to receive food cards a camp for internally displaced people in North Kordofan. Sudan's military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces have been fighting since April last year.

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  The UN refugee agency has called for humanitarian access to Sudan to be increased, as the threat of famine looms.

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  The UN has warned Sudan faces the world's worst displacement crisis, with little progress in efforts to secure a ceasefire.

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  People queue to register for a potential food aid delivery in North Kordofan. Doctors Without Borders says there are 'extreme levels of suffering' across Sudan.

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  Huts to provide shelter for displaced people in Rabang. The war has killed tens of thousands in Sudan.

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  More than 7.2 million have fled their homes since the war broke out between the military and the RSF, International Organisation for Migration says.

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  The US recently pledged $315 million in aid to Sudan and warned the country faces a historic famine.

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  A woman braids her sister's hair in the Rabang displacement camp.

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  The US is among the countries to push to restart ceasefire talks.

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  A child is fed at the malnutrition ward of a hospital in the Nuba Mountains. Sudan is facing the world's worst humanitarian crisis in decades, Doctors Without Borders has warned.

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  Global agencies have warned millions are on the brink of starvation in Sudan.

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  Girls collect water from a hill after heavy rain near the Rabang displacement camp.

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  The family of a bride celebrate in the Nuba Mountains as they prepare to deliver a dowry of porridge and a fermented beverage known as merisa.

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  Sudan's worsening hunger crisis has also affected livestock.

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  People take the body of a large snake to the Rabang camp. International agencies have issued dire warnings about the threat of famine in Sudan.

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  Men ride a camel in South Kordofan state. UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi says more food and aid is needed to help people 'that otherwise risk starvation'.

The UAE has joined several nations in the Mena region to express serious concern about the continuing crisis and risk of famine in Sudan.

A joint statement was released to warn of the findings of the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification report, published last month, which suggested that “after 14 months of conflict, Sudan is facing the worst levels of acute food insecurity ever recorded by the classification in the country”.

Other countries to release the statement were Morocco, Jordan, Mauritania, Chad, Comoros, Guinea-Bissau, Seychelles, Senegal, Benin, Kenya, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Mozambique and Nigeria. The report revealed shocking levels of food insecurity in Sudan that has left 14 areas at risk of famine and 25.6 million people without access to sufficient food, or food of adequate quality, to meet their basic needs.

The statement expressed particular concern around the apparent “dramatic and rapid deterioration” of the situation on the safety and well-being of civilians, including several thousand children suffering severe malnutrition.

Worsening crisis

Sudan was plunged into conflict in mid-April last year when long-simmering tensions between its military and paramilitary leaders broke out in the capital, Khartoum, and spread to other regions including Darfur. The UN says more than 14,000 people have been killed and 33,000 injured. Rights activists say the death toll could be much higher.

The war has also created the world’s largest displacement crisis with more than 11 million people forced to flee their homes, as well as allegations of sexual violence and crimes against humanity. International experts recently warned that 755,000 people are facing famine in the coming months.

Talks in Saudi Arabia’s port city of Jeddah between the Sudanese military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces broke down at the end of last year.

Volunteers provide meals at a displacement camp in Gedaref city. AFP

Part of the joint statement recalled the UN Security Council's request for the warring parties to “allow and facilitate rapid, safe, sustained and unhindered passage of humanitarian relief to civilians in need, including by removing bureaucratic and other impediments”.

It stressed the need to enable visas and travel permits for humanitarian workers and supplies, and reiterated the call on foreign nations to cease providing armed support to either side.

“The international community must increase humanitarian assistance, support IPC recommendations to scale up nutrition interventions, restore productive systems, and improve data collection,” it said.

“We also stress the urgent need to address the crisis and prevent further deterioration of the humanitarian situation and the imminent risk of famine in Sudan, including working to achieve a sustainable solution to the conflict in Sudan.”