The ongoing hunger crisis in Sudan took a dire turn recently when World Food Programme (WFP) spokesperson, Leni Kinzli, pleaded for unrestricted access and security assurances to deliver aid to families amidst escalating violence in various conflict zones in Sudan. According to reports, Kinzli stressed the urgent necessity for the WFP to use the Adré border crossing for transportation of aid across frontlines into Darfur.
It is believed that at least 1.7 million people are facing a severe hunger crisis in Darfur, an estimate expected to significantly rise due to ongoing strife. The situation is anticipated to worsen with the advent of the lean season, when food supplies typically decrease before the next harvest.
The situation in North Darfur is of particular concern, with escalating clashes hampering aid efforts. Despite the desperate need, aid deliveries to the region have been intermittent, with ongoing violence and bureaucratic obstructions posing significant challenges. The recent spike in violence has lead to suspension of aid convoys from the El Tina border crossing in Chad. Also, a similar conundrum presents itself in the transport of aid through the Adré humanitarian corridor from Chad.
These restrictions stand to undermine WFP’s efforts to provide critical assistance to over 700,000 people before the rainy season, rendering many roads across Darfur impassable. Presently, 8,000 metric tons of food are stationary, awaiting permission for transit from Chad into Sudan.
Agriculture, which provides the livelihood for approximately 65 percent of Sudan’s populace, has taken severe blows due to the conflict. As per the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), agricultural production has been acutely disrupted, causing extensive infrastructural and livelihood damage, affecting trade flows, and skyrocketing prices. Alarmingly, the conflict has now reached Al Jazirah, responsible for almost 50 percent of Sudan’s wheat production and 10 percent of its sorghum yield.
The charity, Save the Children, issued a warning that in the absence of critical life-saving funding and aid, nearly 230,000 children, pregnant women, and new mothers could die from hunger in the coming months due to Sudan’s deteriorating crisis.
The roots of the crisis trace back to April 2023, with an armed conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), who previously ousted long-standing dictator Omar al-Bashir in 2019. The dispute originated from disagreements about the transition process, security sector reforms, and lines of command and control. Currently, the RSF hold dominion over most of the Darfur region.
As of present, El Fasher, the provincial capital of North Darfur, is under siege by the RSF forces. WFP partners report an extremely dire situation in El Fasher, where around 500,000 civilians are confined and attempting to escape the RSF bombing and artillery shelling attacks on the city.