Sudan emergency: We need more help to prevent famine, says WFP

This article is published in association with United Nations.

The very real risk of famine continues to stalk Sudan’s communities impacted by war, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said on Tuesday, in an appeal for more funding to support immediate needs and boost longer-term recovery across the country.

“Over the past six months, WFP scaled up assistance and we are now reaching nearly one million Sudanese in Khartoum with food and nutrition support,” said Laurent Bukera, WFP Country Director in Sudan. “This momentum must continue; several areas in the south are at risk of famine.”

In an update from Port Sudan, Mr. Bukera reported that a mission to Khartoum had found many neighbourhoods abandoned, heavily damaged and akin to a “ghost city”.

Pressure on overstretched resources will only intensify, he insisted.

Fragile frontline communities

And as conflict still rages between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, sparked by a breakdown in transition to civilian rule in 2023, the veteran aid worker also explained that communities on the frontlines were at “breaking point” and unable to support displaced families any longer.

Despite many generous contributions to the UN agency’s work in Sudan, it faces a $500 million shortfall to support emergency food and cash assistance for the coming six months.

“The international community must act now by stepping up funding to stop famine in the hardest hit area, and to invest in Sudan’s recovery,” Mr. Bukera insisted.” We must also demand respect for the safety and the protection of the Sudanese people and aid workers.”

No food, water

More than two years of fighting have smashed infrastructure and left communities without basic services, such as clean water.

This – and weeks of heavy rains – have contributed to a deadly cholera outbreak and reports of corpses rotting in the Nile in Omdurman, one of the capital’s three cities.

In an update last week, the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, said that war-related displacement and the spread of cholera have continued to add to needs across Sudan.

“We are deeply concerned and meeting the basic needs, especially food, will be critical and is urgent,” said WFP’s Mr. Bukera. “Urgent action is needed to restore basic services and accelerate recovery through coordinated efforts with local authorities, national NGOs, UN agencies and humanitarian partners.”

This vital work has been prevented by a lack of international support, forcing WFP to reduce the amount and range of relief it can distribute.

“Funding shortfalls are already disrupting some of the assistance we are providing in Khartoum, Blue Nile, Al Jazeera and Sennar states,” the WFP senior official continued. “Our rations and the oil and the pulses in the food basket had to be removed due to lack of resources.”

Rations cuts

In Khartoum, lifesaving nutritional supplements for young children and pregnant and nursing mothers are already “out of reach” because of a lack of resources, he said.

Despite the many challenges, the UN agency now reaches four million people a month across Sudan. This is nearly four times more than at the start of 2024 as access has expanded, including in previously unreachable areas like Khartoum.

Communities are also supported in the longer-term via cash assistance to support local markets and support for bakeries and small businesses planning to reopen.

“We have rapidly scaled up our operation to meet increasing needs,” Mr. Bukera said. “We are aiming to reach seven people on a monthly basis, prioritizing those facing famine or other areas at extreme risk”, such as Darfur, Kordofan and Al Jazeera.