Although food security has started to improve in areas where fighting has eased, famine has set in in areas affected by conflict, cut off from aid or under siege, according to the latest UN-backed IPC food security analysis.
Famine conditions confirmed in El Fasher and Kadugli in Darfurwhere “people endured months without reliable access to food or medical care,” the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said.FAO), the World Food Program (PAM) and the child rights agency UNICEF said in a joint outing.
Call for ceasefire
UN chief António Guterres called on Tuesday for an immediate ceasefire in Sudan, as disturbing images of apparent massacres in El Fasher and elsewhere continued to circulate online.
In a tweetMr. Guterres called on the Sudanese armed forces and rebel rapid support paramilitary forces “to come to the negotiating table to end this nightmare of violence.”
Heavy fighting broke out in Sudan in April 2023 between rival armies, causing a massive humanitarian catastrophe.
Last week saw the fall of El Fasher’s government after more than 500 days of siege by rebels.
Hundreds of civilians – including aid workers – are believed to have been killed, with many more trapped behind barricades.
Millions of people are still hungry
The IPC analysis confirmed that around 21.2 million people in Sudan – 45 percent of the population – face high levels of acute food insecurity, representing a slight improvement.
Furthermore, an estimated 3.4 million people no longer face critical levels of hunger.
The improvements follow a gradual stabilization since May in three states – Khartoum, Al Jazirah and Sennar – where the conflict has subsided and families are returning, among other events.
“But these gains are limited,” the UN agencies said. “The wider crisis has destroyed the economy and vital services, and much of the infrastructure that people depend on has been damaged or destroyed. »
“Flimsy improvements”
Favorable growing conditions are also expected after the harvest and over the next year, with famine levels improving to 19.3 million through January.
However, they warned that “these fragile improvements are very localized» because many families returning to Khartoum and Al Jazirah have lost everything and will struggle to enjoy the harvests.
At the same time, active conflict persists in the western regions, including North and South Darfur as well as West and South Kordofan.
At the same time, hunger is expected to worsen from February as food stocks run out and fighting continues.
Famine in besieged areas
The IPC Famine Review Committee (FRC) found that famine conditions prevail in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, and Kadugli in South Kordofan, which have been largely isolated due to the conflict.
UN agencies noted that conditions in Dilling, South Kordofan, “are likely similar to those in Kadugli, but cannot be classified due to lack of reliable data – due to restricted humanitarian access and ongoing hostilities.”
In the western Nuba Mountains, the situation has improved slightly, but famine remains high unless humanitarian access improves.
The FRC forecasts a risk of famine in 20 additional areas in Greater Darfur and Greater Kordofan, including rural localities, IDP camps and several new sites in East Darfur and South Kordofan.
Furthermore, global acute malnutrition (GAM) rates are alarming, ranging from 38 to 75 percent in El Fasher and reaching almost 30 percent in Kadugli.
This is happening as outbreaks of cholera, malaria and measles continue to surge in areas where health, water and sanitation systems have collapsed.
Originally published at Almouwatin.com
