MORE than 40 percent of Sudan’s population is hungry, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday (9/8). “WHO is deeply concerned about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Sudan, which is currently entering its fourth month of conflict,” said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus as quoted by Antara.
The number of people facing hunger has doubled compared to May last year, he said. He emphasized that limited access to medicines, medical supplies, electricity and water is still a challenge in conflict-affected areas.
Sudan has been wracked by fighting between the military and the Rapid Support Force since April. The conflict has killed more than 3,000 civilians and injured thousands, according to local medical services. According to data from the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR), more than four million people have been forced to flee as a result of the crisis.
According to the report of the Unified Food Safety Classification (IPC), the number of hungry Sudanese has increased rapidly to 20.3 million people or 42 percent of the population. “The results reflect a significant improvement in the estimated magnitude of the food insecurity situation,” the IPC said, as quoted by Reuters on Friday (4/8).
The IPC further revealed that the most severely food insecure areas were located in the capital city of Khartoum, the western region of Darfur, and parts of Kordofan. “All of these areas have been the center of military gatherings since they erupted on April 15,” he added.
The results of the IPC study stated that supply chain disruptions, population movements, and damage to infrastructure due to military conflicts, had caused an increase in the number of hungry in Sudan. “The clash of arms between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Force (RSF) resulted in 3 million residents being displaced and 900 thousand of them fleeing to neighboring countries,” said IPC.
