Youth-led groups tackle famine in war-ravaged Sudan

This article is published in association with United Nations.

How do you tackle famine? UN News spoke with young people operating “emergency response rooms” in war-torn Sudan to find out how they are helping to overcome hunger at besieged famine-stricken camps in North Darfur, home to more than half a million displaced people, as the world commemorates World Humanitarian Day, marked annually on 19 August.

These young Sudanese volunteers work in youth-led initiatives born in the throes of the ongoing war that has displaced millions since fighting erupted in April 2023 between rival militaries, and they are providing lifesaving assistance with limited means and strong will, from food, water and medicine to helping the wounded and sheltering the homeless.

“The emergency rooms are born from the womb of suffering and became a link between organizations and the needy on the ground,” said Mubarak Mohamed Idris, a member of the youth-led initiative at the Zamzam camp.

Now they are tackling famine, and their emergency rooms have been a lifeline for thousands of displaced, besieged people at a time when the UN is on the ground providing assistance as international aid organizations scramble for safe, unfettered access to reach those in need.

Community kitchens are a lifeline for hungry people in Abu-Shouk camp for displaced persons in Darfur.

Hope in a landscape of suffering

A landscape of suffering in this part of Sudan is unfolding in the wake of global food security experts announcing a famine in the Zamzam camp, with aid agencies now warning of similar conditions in the nearby Abu Shouk and Al-Salam camps.

Children spend their entire day without any food at all

Aid organizations have no access to these camps due to fighting and road blockages to deliver much-needed assistance, so the youth-led emergency room came forward to provide food for the hungry, Mr. Idris said.

The Zamzam camp hosts around 500,000 displaced people from Darfur’s five states as well as displaced people who fled the conflict in Khartoum, which has dramatically increased the camp’s population, according to aid agencies.

The camp has become a “miniature Darfur”, according to Mr. Idris, who said “children spend their entire day without any food at all”.

Volunteers with the Zamzam camp emergency response room prepare a meal for displaced families.

Community kitchens fight famine

Some families go by for many days without lighting a fire because they have no food to cook, he said, emphasising that “the camp is besieged, and families have nothing.”

So, they created a community kitchen, where volunteers prepare and provide food, around the clock, to more than 46 shelters inside the camp.

“This helps us alleviate the suffering of the displaced inside the camp due to the lack of food and the inability of families to feed themselves,” he said.

Spirit of solidarity and cooperation

The role of emergency rooms goes far beyond material assistance. Young volunteers are promoting solidarity among the displaced, providing shelter and clothing, evacuating the injured from conflict areas and helping those hit by such disasters as flooding.

Access to safe water is another enormous challenge, as all the wells at the Zamzam camp were out of service due to the lack of fuel because the area is surrounded by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which continues to battle against the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF).

“Now, only two of the eight water wells in the camp are operating,” Mr. Idris said. “We struggle to bring water to the camp in light of the clashes and artillery shelling and lack of funding. We bring two water carts with 200 barrels of water and distribute them to people in 46 centres, but that’s not enough.”

They are also working to provide tarpaulins and shelter supplies during the autumn period in addition to insecticide spraying tools and mosquito nets, and in the winter, they will provide clothing for children.

Community kitchens run by the youth-led emergency response room in Abu Shouk camp.

Model of resilience amid starvation

About 22 kilometres away, the same situation grimly unfolds at the Abu Shouk camp, said Mohamed Adam Abdel Latif, a representative of the media committee of the emergency room serving the community.

All signs of famine are very clear

“All signs of famine are very clear” inside the camp, Mr. Latif said, noting that there have been “a lot of deaths” due to hunger among camp residents, especially among children.

Recent floods destroyed more than 700 homes in the camp, and young volunteers face the same challenges, offer the same services and even expand their work to include rehabilitating affected shelters, providing everything from sanitary pads for women and girls to working in environmental sanitation.

Forced to eat animal feed

Multiple challenges persist, from shortages of food and other lifesaving supplies. Most health centres were shuttered following artillery shelling, and the only one that provides primary suffers from a severe shortage of medicines and medical supplies, especially for children under age five.

“We don’t have access to therapeutic nutrition,” he stressed. “We have two therapeutic feeding centres, and they were bombed by the RSF.”

Meanwhile, rising food prices, forcing many people to eat animal feed, if available, as others become desperate, resorting to begging or prostitution so they can feed their children.

“We provide food to shelters that are now completely dependent on us,” Mr. Latif said, expressing gratitude for support received from non-governmental organizations (NGOs), including the Norwegian Refugee Council – a UN partner – which sent $5,000 to stock the community kitchen.

However, a lack of steady support had recently forced the camp kitchen to shut down for 20 days.

Families gather to have a meal prepared and provided by Zamzam camp emergency response room teams in North Darfur.

Conditions could worsen

Right now, all roads leading to the camp are currently closed while there are no basic medical supplies such as bandages and sterilisers available to help the large number of people with injuries, Mr. Latif said.

“We have appealed many times, and we continue to appeal to international and UN organizations to provide services to us in any way,” he said.

“We appeal to the UN authorities to coordinate with the bodies inside the camp in order to deliver support to displaced children and their families.”