Anjali Sharma
GG News Bureau
UNITED NATIONS, 11th May. WFP and other agencies on Wednesday warned that the prospect of record hunger levels in Sudan is more likely to go high as heavy fighting continues.
WFP said that it expected between 2 and 2.5 million more people to face acute hunger in the coming months, because of the ongoing conflict in Sudan, in a new alert released.
The agency said that this development would take the dire food insecurity in Sudan to a “record high” with two-fifths of the country’s population affected.
According to WFP the biggest spikes in food insecurity could occur in West Darfur, West Kordofan, Blue Nile, Red Sea and North Darfur states.
UH High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi shared on Twitter that more than 150,000 people have now fled Sudan both Sudanese citizens and refugees hosted in the country.
“Needs are huge. Resources are scarce. Aid is required, urgently!” Mr. Grandi wrote.
UN humanitarians expect the price of basic food items to increase by 25 per cent in the next three to six months.
WFP said that if the situation in Sudan prevents farmers from accessing their fields and planting key staples between May and July, food prices could rise even more.
The UN agency has resumed its operations in Sudan, after a temporary pause after the killing of three of its aid workers.
But despite a dire security situation, WFP has reached over 35,000 people with food assistance.
The aid is a lifeline for the most vulnerable, including families who have recently fled the conflict, refugees living in Sudan and internally displaced people and their host communities.
WFP is supporting 4.9 million vulnerable people in areas where the security situation allows in addition to “preventing and treating moderate acute malnutrition” for 600,000 children under five and pregnant and breastfeeding women.
The agency said that the UN Humanitarian Air Services (UNHAS), which it manages, is starting “regular” air connections between Port Sudan and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to enable the “safe transportation of frontline humanitarians and critical aid”.
It is providing emergency food assistance to thousands who have fled Sudan to neighboring Chad, South Sudan, Egypt and the Central African Republic, amid dire funding shortages.
WFP said that it is “cash-strapped” and that any extra pressure on resources could force it to take food and funding from others to support new arrivals in South Sudan over 40,000 returnees have fled across the border.
According to figures from UNHCR’s data portal, the largest outflows from Sudan have been to Egypt, which has seen the arrival of over 68,000 Sudanese refugees and close to 5,000 refugees of other nationalities fleeing the fighting.
It appealed for $445 million to support the displaced until October.
Comments are closed.