Despite improvements in food security in areas where conflicts have subsided, famine has emerged in conflict-affected zones cut off from aid or under siege, as reported by the latest UN-backed IPC food security analysis.
Famine conditions confirmed in El Fasher and Kadugli in Darfur where residents have faced months without reliable access to food or medical care, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Food Program (PAM), and the child rights agency UNICEF in a joint statement.
Call for ceasefire
UN chief António Guterres urged an immediate ceasefire in Sudan on Tuesday, as disturbing images of apparent massacres in El Fasher and other areas continued circulating online.
In a tweet, Mr. Guterres called on the Sudanese armed forces and rebel rapid support paramilitary forces to negotiate to end the ongoing violence.
Heavy fighting began in Sudan in April 2023 between rival armies, leading to a massive humanitarian disaster.
Last week, El Fasher’s government fell after over 500 days of a rebel siege.
Hundreds of civilians, including aid workers, are believed to have been killed, with many more trapped behind barricades.
Millions of people are still hungry
The IPC analysis reported that around 21.2 million people in Sudan, 45 percent of the population, face high levels of acute food insecurity, indicating slight improvement.
Furthermore, an estimated 3.4 million people no longer face critical levels of hunger.
These improvements follow a gradual stabilization since May in three states—Khartoum, Al Jazirah, and Sennar—where the conflict has decreased, and families are returning.
“But these gains are limited,” the UN agencies said. “The wider crisis has devastated the economy and essential services, and much of the infrastructure people rely on has been damaged or destroyed.”
“Flimsy improvements”
Favorable growing conditions are expected post-harvest and over the next year, with famine levels projected to improve to 19.3 million by January.
However, they warned that “these fragile improvements are very localized” because many families returning to Khartoum and Al Jazirah have lost everything and will struggle to benefit from the harvests.
Meanwhile, active conflict continues in the western regions, including North and South Darfur, as well as West and South Kordofan.
Hunger is anticipated to worsen from February as food stocks deplete and fighting continues.
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