The ongoing war in Sudan is on the brink of causing “the world’s largest hunger crisis,” according to a warning issued by the World Food Programme (WFP) on Wednesday. The conflict, now persisting for 10 months, has placed over 25 million people in Sudan, South Sudan, and Chad in a perilous situation of food insecurity.
The WFP highlighted that these millions are “trapped in a spiral” of food insecurity, with the brutal civil war showing no signs of abating. The continuous violence has hindered aid workers from accessing 90 percent of the population facing “emergency levels of hunger.”
Cindy McCain, the executive director of the WFP, concluded a visit to South Sudan, expressing grave concern: “Millions of lives and the peace and stability of an entire region are at stake.” She pointed out that despite the international response to famine in Sudan’s Darfur state two decades ago, the people of the country have been “forgotten.”
In crowded transit camps in South Sudan, which have received nearly 600,000 refugees fleeing from Sudan, the WFP described a dire situation. “Families arrive hungry and are met with more hunger,” noted the organization. Furthermore, one in five children crossing the border is malnourished.
The WFP’s warning underscores the urgent need for international attention and humanitarian aid to address the escalating hunger crisis resulting from the prolonged conflict in Sudan.
