By Kielce Gussie
For the last two years, Sudan has been ravaged by an internal conflict that has led to more than one million people fleeing to South Sudan and displaced 12.4 million people. The United Nations reported that 57% of the Sudanese people are facing “high levels of acute food insecurity”.
Sudan is one of the five global top-priority hunger spots of “highest concern” – as the UN described it – “trapped in a worsening cycle of conflict, climate shocks and economic decline.”
In the coming summer months, things are only expected to worsen as fighting continues, flooding is common, and failing economic conditions grow.
The World Food Programme (WFP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) recently released a report that analyzes current data to project the nature of the food insecurity. It pointed out that if these five countries – Sudan, South Sudan, Palestine, Mali, and Haiti – do not receive immediate humanitarian assistance, they will face high risks of starvation and death.
Hunger, the FAO Director General QU Dongyu stressed, is not a distant threat: “It is a daily emergency for millions. We must act now and act together to save lives and safeguard livelihoods.”
Conflict drives hunger
This WFP-FAO report revealed that conflict mainly drives the hunger crisis, which is also exacerbated by climate and economic challenges. The FAO food security analysis director, Jean-Martin Baucer, pointed out that there is an ongoing famine in Sudan and a growing risk of famine in Gaza. And, he argued, “all of those are driven by conflict and lack of access for humanitarians.”
The entire population of Gaza – 2.1 million people – is expected to face crisis-level food insecurity in the coming months due to ongoing military operations, with nearly 500,000 at risk of experiencing catastrophic levels.
One mother and artist, Sawsan, explained to WFP that she and her four children were displaced and have lost everything as a result of the conflict in Gaza. Now, to feed her children, Sawsan has resorted to crushing macaroni to make bread.
A looming deadline
People in places like Gaza and Sudan have been denied aid as humanitarian food operations face shortages and have been “geographically impeded by security crises which make the delivery of aid simply dangerous.”
The WFP and FAO are calling on the global community to drastically increase funding for food and nutrition related humanitarian aid in the coming months and to push for an end to the violence.
WFP executive director, Cindy McCain, stressed that “urgent, sustained investment in food assistance and recovery support is crucial as the window to avert yet more devastating hunger is closing fast.” – Vatican News
