United Nations, Jan 7 (IANS): Sudan "remains in the grip of a humanitarian crisis of staggering proportions" after 20 months of war, a senior United Nations official said, calling for more international support and unimpeded humanitarian access.
"Armed conflict continues to severely impact civilians, including humanitarian workers, across the country, despite repeated calls for a cessation of hostilities," Edem Wosornu, director of Operations and Advocacy at the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), told the UN Security Council on Monday.
This situation in and around El Fasher in North Darfur remains "especially catastrophic," she said.
According to OCHA data, more than 11.5 million people are estimated to be internally displaced, of whom nearly 8.8 million people have been uprooted since April 2023. Over 3.2 million others have fled into neighbouring countries, Xinhua news agency reported.
"With fighting having intensified and access to key hunger spots having tightened, a further spread of starvation and hunger was, tragically, the most likely scenario," Wosornu warned.
The latest analysis from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) indicates that famine conditions are present in five areas in Sudan. It also projects that five additional locations, all in North Darfur, will be affected by mid-2025, with risk of famine in 17 other areas.
Wosornu described the unfolding disaster as "a man-made crisis," adding that Sudan is currently the only place in the world where famine has been confirmed.
She stressed that the impacts are not experienced evenly across the Sudanese population, with extreme hunger posing disproportionate risks for women and girls, children and the elderly.
"The unprecedented scale of the needs in Sudan demands an unprecedented mobilisation of international support," Wosornu said, and appealed for $4.2 billion of the 2025 Sudan Humanitarian needs and response plan to support nearly 21 million people, with an additional $1.8 billion required for refugees in neighbouring countries.
Beth Bechdol, deputy director-general of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), said during the briefing that conflict and displacement are the main drivers of food insecurity, "exacerbated by restricted humanitarian access."
Almost 90 per cent of displaced households across the country are currently unable to afford food.
She called for member states to prioritise funding and ensuring "immediate and unimpeded" humanitarian access.