At least 25 million people face soaring hunger and malnutrition as the crisis in Sudan sends shockwaves around the region with thousands of families being forced to flee to Chad and South Sudan each week, the Rome-based UN World Food Programme said on Monday.
“The impact of this conflict spans three countries – Sudan, South Sudan, and Chad - and has created the world’s largest displacement crisis," said Michael Dunford, WFP’s Regional Director for Eastern Africa, from the South Sudanese border town of Renk.
"Almost a year into the war and we’re seeing no signs that the number of families fleeing across borders will slow. The children and women who are crossing to South Sudan or Chad are hungry and arriving with no resources,” Dunford said.
Half a million of those fleeing the war which broke out last April between the Sudan armed forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have reached Renk, WFP said.
Hunger and acute malnutrition have soared in Sudan since the start of the current conflict. There are 18 million people within Sudan who don't know where their next meal is coming from and some 3.8 million Sudanese children under 5 years old are malnourished, WFP stated.
Most Sudanese facing hunder and malnutrition are trapped in areas of active fighting where WFP and other aid agencies are struggling to maintain consistent access, said the agency. Those who can escape are fleeing to places like South Sudan or Chad, worsening already dire humanitarian situations in both countries, according to WFP
Malnutrition is soaring among children who are languishing in temporary transit camps. Approximately 4 percent of children under 5 who are crossing the border into South Sudan are malnourished on arrival. This figure rises to 25 percent among children in the transit centre in Renk, according to according to trends WFP has observed.
“Unless this conflict is resolved, unfettered access is granted to humanitarian agencies, and funding is received, this crisis will only worsen,” said Dunford.
“We need to be able to provide support to families in Sudan to avoid the world’s largest displacement crisis turning into a hunger catastrophe as we approach the lean season," he said.
In Chad, more than 553,000 Sudanese, mainly from Darfur, have fled since the conflict broke out. Around 40 percent of refugee children brought to an emergency clinic at a reception camp were found to be suffering from acute malnutrition, WFP reported.
The malnutrition rate in many Sudanese refugee camps in Chad – including camps that pre-date the current war – is well above the WHO emergency threshold of 15 percent, WFP noted.
"A devastating hunger catastrophe is approaching as food and nutrition needs across Sudan, South Sudan, and Chad soar," WFP warned.
WFP needs to bridge a 300 million dollar funding gap to provide vital humanitarian aid for the crisis-hit region in next six months, the agency underlined.
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