However, “these Hard-won gains now risk being reversed”said Ross Smith, Director of Emergency Preparedness and Response, as the WFP has been forced to reduce rations to the absolute minimum.
“By the end of March we will have exhausted our food reserves in Sudan”, he warned.
Millions are hungry
The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and its military rivals, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), have been locked in a battle for power since mid-April 2023, creating the world’s largest hunger and displacement crisis.
More than 21 million people do not eat enoughand famine has been confirmed in areas of the country where humanitarian access is practically impossible.
The fighting has forced nearly 12 million people to flee their homes. and seek refuge either elsewhere in Sudan or across the border.
In addition, some 3.7 million children and pregnant and lactating mothers are malnourished. Recent surveys have documented record levels of malnutrition in some localities in northern Darfur, where up to more than half of all young children are affected.
“We can change the course”
WFP has teams in Sudan and the access to scale up and save more lives, but funding remains a challenge and $700 million is urgently needed to continue operations until June.
In the last six months, WFP has provided regular assistance to almost 1.8 million people in famine or threatened areaswhich has contributed to reducing hunger in nine locations.
Recent developments include a joint UN convoy to Kadugli in October, one of the areas where families have been deprived of aid for months.
“A thousand days of conflict are too many. Every day the fighting continues, families fall deeper into hunger and communities are pushed further to the brink.”Mr. Smith said.
“We can turn the tide and prevent famine conditions from spreading further, but only if we have the funds to support these most vulnerable families.”