The United Nations (UN) food agency on Thursday warned about one-third of Sudan’s population is currently facing a food crisis due to the compounded impact of climate shocks, political turmoil, and rising global food prices reported Aljazeera.
A joint report released by the UN World Food Programme (WFP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) claims that about 15 million people are facing acute food insecurity across all of the 18 provinces of the East African country.
Acute food insecurity is defined as a situation when a person is unable to consume adequate food and this puts their lives or livelihoods in immediate danger.
Eddie Rowe, WFP’s representative in Sudan, said the combined effects of conflict, climate shocks, economic and political crises, rising costs, and poor harvests are pushing millions of people deeper into hunger and poverty.
The living conditions of the Sudanese people continued to deteriorate since an October military coup sent an already fragile economy into free fall. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has compounded the economic pain.
The UN food agency warned that food insecurity among people may dramatically increase to unprecedented levels and ultimately lead to more conflict and displacement unless Sudan receives immediate international support with agriculture inputs.
“Funding levels are not matching the humanitarian needs and we must act now to avoid increasing hunger levels and to save the lives of those already affected,” Rowe warned.
As per the latest report, the situation in Sudan is likely to worsen throughout the lean season, which started this month and will continue through September.
It is feared that by September, up to 40 percent of the population, or around 18 million people, may slip into food insecurity.
To address the rise in food insecurity, FAO and WFP are calling for urgent action, including increased funding, in order to save lives and prevent a looming hunger crisis in Sudan.
