2024-03-31 19:03:43
A global food security body backed by the United Nations warned on Friday of the need to take immediate action “to prevent widespread death and the complete collapse of livelihoods and to avoid a catastrophic hunger crisis in Sudan.”
The IPC was due to issue an update to its analysis in December which concluded that nearly five million people were on the brink of catastrophic famine. But this was not possible due to the war.
Instead, the IPC said it had reviewed the latest available evidence and published the warning on Friday “to express its grave concern” about the deteriorating situation and to press for immediate action “to prevent famine.”
War broke out in Sudan on April 15, 2023, between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. The United Nations said that nearly 25 million people, half of Sudan’s population, need assistance, and about eight million have fled their homes.
The interim classification report on Friday stated, “Without an immediate cessation of hostilities and a significant deployment of humanitarian aid… the residents of Khartoum, Gezira, Greater Darfur and Greater Kordofan states are at risk of reaching the worst levels of acute food insecurity and malnutrition during the next dry season, which begins in April-May 2024.” “.
The United Nations Security Council this month called for an immediate cessation of hostilities. The United States warned on Thursday that it would pressure the council to take action to get aid to people suffering from hunger in Sudan, possibly by allowing cross-border aid deliveries from Chad.
The IPC estimates that nearly five million people suffer from acute malnutrition, including 3.6 million children under the age of five and 1.2 million pregnant and breastfeeding women.
It estimates that grain production was 46 percent lower than the previous year due to fighting in basic crop production areas during the peak harvest season, with food prices in the markets 73 percent higher than they were in the same period last year.
Last updated: March 31, 2024 – 00:31
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2024-03-31 19:03:43