Sudan between famine and destruction: UN

Sudan famine

Orphans and children separated from their parents in Kadugli gather to eat boiled leaves at an IDP Camp within the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) controlled area in Boram County, Nuba Mountains, South Kordofan, Sudan June 22, 2024. Reuters

Sudan is facing what the United Nations has described as an “unparalleled humanitarian disaster” with famine confirmed in multiple regions, even as it faces the risk of total destruction from war. 

And as the US imposed sanctions on Mohamed Hamdan Daglo “Hemedti,” leader of the Rapid Support Forces, for atrocities including genocide, the UN issued a grave warning, stating that the country is “the only place in the world currently experiencing famine,” a consequence of relentless conflict, economic collapse, and restricted humanitarian access.

During a briefing to the UN Security Council, Edem Wosornu, Director of Operations and Advocacy at the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, and Beth Bechdol, Deputy Director-General for the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, presented findings that paint a bleak picture of the unfolding catastrophe. 

According to the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis, famine conditions are now present in five locations, including the Zamzam, Salam and Abu Shouk camps for internally displaced persons, and parts of the western Nuba Mountains. 

The analysis further predicts that famine will extend to five additional areas in North Darfur by May, with 17 other regions at high risk.

“This crisis is not a natural disaster—it is entirely man-made,” declared Wosornu, emphasising that famine in Sudan is fuelled by choices to perpetuate violence rather than prioritise human welfare. 

“The hunger devastating Sudan is not merely a food crisis; it is a profound human tragedy that tears at the social fabric and threatens generations to come,” she said. “Every day that the war continues, the human cost deepens, pushing innocent civilians further into despair.”

The suffering is compounded by the deliberate targeting of vital infrastructure, including markets, water systems, and transportation networks, which has hindered relief efforts. Humanitarian agencies face life-threatening risks as they attempt to deliver aid, with restricted access worsening the severity of famine hotspots. 

Sudan’s government has estimates the country’s war has damaged infrastructure worth $60 billion in terms of destroyed hospitals, damaged bridges and flattened residential houses.

UN’s 2025 Humanitarian Response Plan requires an unprecedented $4.2 billion to assist 21 million people within Sudan. An additional $1.8 billion is needed to support more than five million Sudanese refugees in seven neighbouring countries, it said. 

Wosornu underscored the urgency, calling for immediate action: “The international community must step up with decisive support. The scale of suffering demands a response that matches the enormity of the challenge. Lives depend on it.”

Beth Bechdol warned of worsening food insecurity across the country, where half the population—about 25 million people—now faces acute hunger. Among them, 15.9 million are classified at crisis levels, 8.1 million at emergency levels, and over 637,000 have already reached catastrophic levels of starvation.

Agricultural losses have compounded the disaster. Key staples such as sorghum, millet, and wheat have suffered devastating production declines, leading to economic losses estimated between $1.3 and $1.7 billion. According to Bechdol, “the first year of conflict destroyed enough crops to feed 18 million people for a full year.”

“This should be a time when food is abundant, but hunger and malnutrition are instead soaring,” Bechdol lamented.

For Sudan, however, the seriousness with which the international community can take the situation is also a political matter. At the UN Security Council session on Monday, where the top aid officials addressed members, some argued the report presented had been an exaggeration.

Dmitry Polyanskiy, Russia’s First Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN accused the pair of “remote” data collection.

“The conclusions of the report look at least strange. First, the data provided are purely anticipatory in nature,” he said referring to the Famine Review Committee report on Sudan, which covers the period between October 2024 and end of December 2024.

“Secondly, the report was prepared remotely, without collecting information in the field.”

The Russian diplomat did admit the situation was “dire” but his argument also manifested the kind of political games at the Council regarding various conflicts across the world. At the Council, the US accused Russia of hindering peace in Sudan.

“Russia chose obstruction: standing alone as it voted to imperil civilians, while funding both sides of the conflict – yes, that’s what I said: both sides. Nevertheless, we will continue to work tirelessly to prevent abuses and hold perpetrators to account. We urge all members of this Council to do the same: to prioritize the lives of civilians over domestic policy objectives,” said Linda Thomas-Greenfield, US Ambassador to the UN. Russia had accused the US of similar allegations on Gaza.

On Tuesday, the US accused the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the paramilitary force fighting the Sudan Armed Forces, of committing genocide in Darfur. It immediately sanctioned RSF leader Mohammed Hamdan Daglo “Hemedti.” Washington was quick to clarify sanctioning RSF does not imply taking sides.

“The United States does not support either side of this war, and these actions against Hemedti and the RSF do not signify support or favour for the SAF. Indeed, the SAF has carried out attacks against civilians by air and artillery strikes and continues to obstruct the delivery of humanitarian aid. Both belligerents bear responsibility for the violence and suffering in Sudan and lack the legitimacy to govern a future peaceful Sudan,” the US envoy to the UN explained on Tuesday.

On Monday, aid workers said they had begun distribution of relief in the southern part of Khartoum, aiming to support more than 80,000 war-affected people who have been grappling with dire humanitarian conditions amid the current civil war, a local volunteer group said.

"Eight centres have been set up to distribute aid to thousands of residents in Al-Azhari, Al-Ingaz, Ed Hussein, and Mayo neighbourhoods, south of Khartoum," Mohamed Kandasha, spokesperson for the South Khartoum Emergency Room, told Xinhua. 

This is the first time such aid has been distributed since the war broke out" in April 2023, Kandasha said, noting the aid distribution would last for three days. For the first time since the conflict erupted, the World Food Programme has managed to deliver a convoy of 28 trucks carrying food aid, including five trucks containing vital medicines, to the southern Khartoum area, the UN agency has said. 

The South Khartoum Emergency Room has made significant efforts to facilitate the arrival of humanitarian aid trucks to the area. 

"Following close coordination with the Sudanese Armed Forces, the Rapid Support Forces, international organisations and United Nations agencies, we managed to deliver humanitarian aid in late December," Kandasha said.

Additional reporting by Xinhua