Famine grips Sudan

While the internal conflict that has been tearing Sudan apart since last year has created the world’s worst displacement crisis, the country is now facing a food crisis on an unprecedented scale.  

755,000 people have been declared to be in a state of famine in Darfur, given the scale of malnutrition and the mortality rate due to hunger. This is the case of the Zamzam camp, near El Fasher, home to 500,000 people displaced by the conflict. In this area, more than one person in five is suffering from an extreme lack of food, and malnutrition and death rates have reached critical levels. In total, 25.6 million people – half the population of Sudan – are suffering from severe levels of food insecurity, making this the biggest food crisis in history.  

In April 2024, SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL took part in the “International Humanitarian Conference for Sudan and its Neighbours” and alerted its partners to the catastrophic humanitarian situation being suffered by the country’s inhabitants, as well as to the fact that it was set to get worse. The conflict that has engulfed the country since 2023 has put 12 million people on the road, according to the United Nations, and led to a particularly serious food crisis. Back in February, SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL warned that “If nothing is done, we are heading straight for famine, particularly in the Darfur states“.  

The worst predictions have now been confirmed. Sudanese people have lost their livelihoods on a massive scale in the conflict, while inflation has pushed prices up by as much as 300%¹. Food is not available in sufficient quantities. On the one hand because the conflict and its parties have made it impossible to supply the markets. And on the other hand, because farmers have been unable to work in their fields since the conflict resumed last year.   

At present, the agricultural season is still unable to resume its normal course. People still have no access to their land and lack the means to buy seeds and inputs.  

Faced with this catastrophic situation, humanitarian aid is expected to be deployed on a massive scale. Yet it is struggling to reach the people. Physical and administrative obstacles are multiplying, making it impossible to distribute the necessary assistance. Access is now the main concern: all Sudanese in need of humanitarian aid must be able to receive it, regardless of the conflict zone in which they live. This is a fundamental principle of international humanitarian law.  

To face inflation, SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL organises money transfers by distributing vouchers and cash. This solution helps the markets to function by enabling people to buy their food.  Other actions are needed to tackle the crisis. Humanitarian actors must be able to organise food distributions.  Suppliers must also be given rapid access to markets so that they can be supplied, and agriculture must be supported so that food can be produced locally. Finally, infrastructures must be able to provide the clean water needed to curb malnutrition.  

Today, SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL is mobilising to bring more humanitarian aid to people in danger.  This assistance must be deployed on an enormous scale and requires coordination between all humanitarian actors and donors. We must demand safe, unconditional and unhindered humanitarian access via the Adré border crossing in Chad, as well as inside Darfur, in Khartoum and in all the regions affected by the conflict, so that people in imminent danger of death can be saved. In the face of this catastrophe, inaction would be the worst choice.  

Photo : © SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL

Source :
¹ Integrated Food Security Phase Classification – April 2024/february 2025