Tag Archives: famine

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

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“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.

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Another year, another rise in food insecurity – including famine

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It is the first time since 2017 that a famine has been declared anywhere on Earth.

In the 20 months since the war between rival militaries erupted, 13 million Sudanese have been forcibly displaced and over 30.4 million are in desperate need of humanitarian assistance, according to UN estimates.

The inhabitants of the Zamzam camp, like others in the Darfur region, have once again been displaced as extreme violence permeates every corner of the country.

In short, Sudan has quickly become one of the most severe food insecurity crises in history.

‘Scar’ of hunger

But in a year when the number of people experiencing acute food insecurity increased for the sixth consecutive year, Sudan is far from the only place marked by what the UN Secretary-General António Guterres has called the “scar” of hunger.

According to the 2025 Global Report on Food Crises, which was released Friday, over 295.3 million people in the 53 countries and territories selected for the report faced acute food insecurity, a number which amounts to 22.6 per cent of the population analysed.

The report “is another unflinching indictment of a world dangerously off-course,” the UN chief said.

‘A failure of humanity’

The report identified 36 countries and territories which have had prolonged food crises, with 80 per cent of their inhabitants facing high levels of food insecurity every year since 2016.

Moreover, the number of people facing catastrophic levels of food insecurity, as determined by the IPC standards, doubled between 2023 and 2024.

“After years of recurring emergencies in the same contexts, it’s clear that business-as-usual is not working,” the report concluded.

For the first time, the annual report also provided data on nutrition, estimating that 37.7 million children aged 6-59 months experienced acute malnutrition in 26 countries.

Numbers like this do not emerge randomly, nor do they emerge in a vacuum. Rather, the report notes that this level of worldwide food insecurity is the result of multiple, intertwined factors.

“No region is immune, with crises overlapping and interacting, eroding decades of development gains and leaving people unable to recover,” the report said.

More than a systems failure

Increased conflict was one of the driving causes for increasing food insecurity in 2024, specifically in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, the Sudan, South Sudan, Myanmar and Palestine – the Gaza Strip.

Gaza experienced the highest share of its population facing food insecurity, with 100 per cent of its inhabitants facing acute food shortages in 2024. Continued aid blockages since March 2025 have only worsened this insecurity.

The report also underlined the role that climate change plays in food shortages, pointing specifically to changing weather patterns which have impacted agriculture.

For example, the food situation in Sudan was worsened by low rainfall in 2024 while other parts of Southern Africa such as Namibia experienced crop failures due to flooding.

War, climate, economic shocks

Economic shocks, including inflation and projected trade wars, also played a large role in worsening food insecurity crises, especially in places like Syria where long-term systemic instabilities increased vulnerabilities to economic shocks.

The Secretary General emphasized, however, that food insecurity at this level cannot simply be explained by one cause.

“This is more than a failure of systems – it is a failure of humanity,” he said.

New strategies, fewer funds

Recent funding shortages are projected to further exacerbate abilities to track and deal with food insecurity with funding for food-based humanitarian initiatives expected to drop by 45 percent. 

Cindy McCain, Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP), said that the funding shortages are impacting every aspect of food distribution, from decreasing the amount of food WFP can provide and the funding for transport to remote areas.

“As things stand, I do not know if we will be able to keep our planes in the sky,” Ms. McCain said.

Because recent funding cuts will negatively impact efforts to provide aid, the report underlined the importance of finding “cost-efficient” strategies which do more to invest in long-term community resilience and capacity development.

“[Addressing the root causes of food insecurity] requires better alignment of humanitarian and development investments, and a shift from treating food crises as seasonal shocks to confronting them as systemic failures,” the report said.

The UN Pact for the Future agreed in September 2024 dealt in part with the question of food insecurity in the 21st century, advocating for more resilient, inclusive and sustainable food systems.

Building on this, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is advocating for expanded investment in sustainable agriculture, which is four times more cost-effective than direct food assistance but only accounts for three percent of  humanitarian funds.

“At FAO, we know that agriculture is one of the most powerful yet underused tools we have to curb food insecurity … Agriculture can be the answer,” said Rein Paulsen, Director of FAO’s Office of Emergency and Resilience.

Hunger is ‘indefensible’

In his video message on the report, the Secretary-General said that the Second UN Food Systems Summit Stocktake, which will be held in July in Addis Ababa, is an opportunity for the international community to work collaboratively towards addressing the challenges laid out in the GRFC report.

“Hunger in the 21st century is indefensible. We cannot respond to empty stomachs with empty hands and turned backs,” he said. 

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Gaza: New displacement orders force thousands to flee as famine looms

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In addition to ongoing bombardment, Israel issued another three displacement orders over the past two days, covering seven per cent of the total area of the territory. 

Overall, some 71 per cent of the Gaza Strip is under displacement orders or in Israeli-militarized zones, where the Israeli authorities require humanitarian teams to coordinate their movements. 

“These displacement orders come as populations across Gaza are at risk of famine and one in every five people faces starvation,” the agency said.

Thousands uprooted

Evacuation orders announced on Thursday have impacted thousands of residents in 10 neighbourhoods in Deir Al-Balah and Khan Younis, OCHA reported.

Initial assessment indicates that the affected area includes eight wells, five reservoirs, seven humanitarian warehouses, three health clinics and other critical facilities. 

Furthermore, displacement orders issued on Wednesday for six neighbourhoods in North Gaza governorate overlap with parts of zones covered under orders issued the previous day.

“According to preliminary estimates, the newly impacted area is home to approximately 100,000 people,” OCHA said. 

Some 30 sites for internally displaced people, six temporary learning spaces serving approximately 700 students, and several water and sanitation facilities have been affected.

Fleeing families return

Humanitarian partners report that several hundred families fled parts of the designated areas on Wednesday, however dozens have since returned due to lack of space and shelter.  

Another displacement order was also issued that same day for parts of the Rimal area of Gaza City.

OCHA further reported that Israeli forces hit another school-turned-shelter run by the UN agency that assists Palestine refugees, UNRWA, in the Nuseirat area of Deir Al-Balah on Wednesday.  No injuries were reported.

Humanitarians committed to deliver

Meanwhile, the UN and partners on the ground are committed to stay and deliver in the Gaza Strip despite the mounting challenges. 

On Wednesday, the World Health Organization (WHO) evacuated 284 patients and their companions from the European Gaza Hospital in Khan Younis to Europe and the United Arab Emirates. Israeli forces hit the hospital premises twice one day prior to the scheduled evacuation. 

European Gaza Hospital is no longer functional following the attack, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a tweet on Thursday.

“The hospital’s closure has cut off vital services including neurosurgery, cardiac care, and cancer treatment—all unavailable elsewhere in Gaza,” he said.

He added that another strike near the Indonesian Hospital “spread fear, disrupted access, and raised the risk of closure.” 

Tedros underlined that “hospitals must be protected”, saying “they must never be militarized or targeted.”

Time is of the essence

More than two months have passed since Israel implemented a full blanket ban on the entry of cargo into the Gaza Strip, including aid and other life-saving supplies, which continues to drive hunger and deprivation.  

UN teams report that the number of hot meals provided by community kitchens has fallen from one million to just 249,000 a day.

OCHA Spokesperson Olga Cherevko told UN News that the situation will continue to worsen as supplies run down, forcing more kitchens to close.

“People are terrified and are telling me every day that they don’t know how they will survive,” she said.

“I have passed several kitchens in the past few days where crowds of people were standing with empty pots and despair in their faces, and these people were being told to go home because all the food had run out for that day.”

The UN and partners have 9,000 truckloads of vital supplies ready to move into Gaza, including food assistance to feed millions for months. Thousands more trucks full of aid are on standby.

OCHA reiterated that as long as the full blockade is not immediately lifted, the already limited assistance available will shrink even further, warning “time is of essence to prevent further death.” 

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GAZA LIVE: Security Council to meet on aid crisis amid ‘critical risk of famine’ due to Israeli blockade

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The Security Council is set to meet this afternoon at 3 PM in New York to discuss the deepening crisis in Gaza, where humanitarians warn of “a critical risk of famine” and aid shipments have been blocked for over 70 days. UN relief chief Tom Fletcher is expected to brief ambassadors. Follow live for key updates from UN Headquarters and reports from the region. App users can follow coverage here.

UN alert over deepening crisis in Sudan as famine spreads and violence escalates

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In a statement issued by his Spokesperson on Wednesday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said he was “appalled” by the deteriorating situation in North Darfur, where the regional capital, El Fasher, is under intense and sustained attack.

The onslaught comes just two weeks after deadly assaults on the nearby Zamzam and Abu Shouk displacement camps, where hundreds of civilians, including humanitarian workers, were reportedly killed.

Mass displacement

More than 400,000 people have fled Zamzam camp alone, with the majority now seeking safety in Tawila, west of El Fasher.

There are also increasing reports of harassment, intimidation and arbitrary detention of displaced people at checkpoints, adding to the already dire humanitarian emergency.

“With the conflict now in its third year and increasingly destabilizing the broader region, the Secretary-General reiterates his call for the facilitation of safe and unhindered humanitarian access to all areas of need by all necessary routes,” UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said.

He also called for the protection of civilians, in line with the warring parties’ clear obligations under international humanitarian law.

Refugee movements from Sudan.

Accountability is paramount

“Perpetrators of serious violations must be held accountable,” Mr. Dujarric stressed.

The civil war between rival militaries – the national Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied militias – has claimed tens of thousands of lives and driven more than 12.7 million people from their homes, including nearly four million as refugees in neighbouring countries.

Violence and insecurity has also sparked a catastrophic hunger crisis, with over half the population suffering acute food insecurity and famine conditions confirmed in various regions, leaving millions at risk of starvation.

Emergency response underway in Tawila

Despite the escalating violence and dwindling funds, humanitarian agencies continue their efforts to deliver lifesaving aid.

The UN relief coordination office, OCHA, reported on Wednesday that an inter-agency convoy led by UN Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator Antoine Gérard crossed into Darfur from Chad earlier this week via the Adré border, en route to Tawila.

The convoy is transporting critical supplies including nutrition and medical items, dignity kits, and other essential goods.

Food and nutrition assistance for approximately 220,000 people has already reached Tawila, with the UN World Food Programme (WFP) confirming that distributions began this week and are already 20 per cent complete.

Additional convoys are in motion, including one expected to depart Chad on Wednesday with 19 trucks of nutrition supplies.

Aid reaches capital Khartoum

WFP has begun the first food distributions in the centre of the capital Khartoum since the conflict erupted two years ago.

Deliveries of 70 metric tonnes of food to the Burri neighbourhood are set to begin on Thursday, attempting to reach nearly 8,000 people.

Aid distributions have also started in Alazhari, one of the areas at high risk of famine, where 20,000 people are receiving assistance.

Despite these efforts, WFP warned that the impending rainy season and severe funding shortfalls could undermine recent progress.

The agency, which assists about four million people monthly, aims to expand coverage to seven million – but that still represents only a fraction of those in need.

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