United Nations (United States) (AFP) – Sudan, where famine looms after nearly a year of war, faces “one of the worst humanitarian disasters in recent memory”, a UN official warned Wednesday, denouncing the inaction of the international community.
On behalf of the UN Humanitarian Coordinator Martin Griffiths, Sorno told the Security Council: “In all respects, the scale of humanitarian needs and the number of displaced and threatened with hunger, Sudan is experiencing one of the worst humanitarian disasters in recent memory.”
“Humanitarian mockery is taking place in Sudan, behind a veil of international negligence and inaction. Simply put, we are failing the Sudanese people,” she said, speaking of the population’s “despair.”
Fighting since April 15, 2023, between the army led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the former second-in-command of military power, has killed thousands of Sudanese and displaced nearly eight million others.
In early March, the UN Security Council called for an “immediate” ceasefire in Sudan within Ramadan month and unhindered humanitarian access.
“Since then, I regret to say that little progress has been made on the ground.”
In total, some 18 million Sudanese are at risk of famine, an increase of 10 million compared to the same period last year. 730,000 children are acutely malnourished.
In a document to the UN Security Council seen by AFP last week, Griffiths warned that within a few months five million Sudanese could face “catastrophic food insecurity” due to their country’s civil war.
WFP Deputy Director Karl Skau said on Wednesday: “If we want to prevent Sudan from experiencing the worst food crisis in the world, coordinating efforts … is urgent and necessary,” he said, warning that Sudanese could slide into famine with the lean season in May.
Malnutrition “is already taking toll on children”, she said.
“Our humanitarian partners expect some 222,000 children to die from malnutrition in the coming weeks or months,” she said, noting the risk of vulnerable children dying from preventable diseases, while more than 70 per cent of health facilities are out of service.
