The Spokesperson for UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Thursday disclosed that the World Food Programme (WFP) has warned that more than 21 million people, that is 45 percent of the entire population in Sudan, are now facing acute food insecurity after more than two and a half years of conflict.
Stéphane Dujarric, who was briefing the media, said famine has been confirmed in El Fasher and Kadugli, both largely cut off from aid.
“However, in nine other locations where WFP has maintained consistent access, famine-like conditions have been reversed thanks to sustained assistance,” he said. “WFP stresses that where conflict has eased and humanitarian operations have expanded, hunger has declined, showing that consistent access is the difference between starvation and actual recovery.”
“The agency is currently reaching over four million people each month with emergency food, cash and nutrition support, including in previously hard-to-reach areas across Darfur, Kordofan, Khartoum and Al Jazira states,” BY Dujarric added.
He disclosed that with more resources, WFP could double its reach to eight million people monthly and further reduce the risk of famine spreading into the hardest-hit areas.
“But without additional support, this fragile progress could quickly be undone,” he stressed. “We join WFP in urging the international community to continue stepping up, with the support and funding needed to help people in Sudan who so desperately need help.”