WFP Warns Sudan Faces Deepening Humanitarian Crisis Amid Ongoing War
Key Takeaways
- Three years of civil conflict in Sudan highlighted by WFP officials.
- Sudan remains the world's largest humanitarian emergency amid the crisis.
- WFP director urges preventing Sudan from becoming a forgotten emergency.
Sudan Humanitarian Crisis
Three years of war in Sudan has left the country in the world’s largest humanitarian emergency.
““Three years of war in Sudan is three years too many,” laments Ross Smith, Director of Emergency Preparedness and Response on the UN World Food Program (WFP)”
WFP Director Ross Smith said Sudan remains the world’s largest humanitarian emergency and it continues to deepen with no end in sight.
We are two years into a famine in parts of the country – this is unacceptable in this day in age.
Millions of Sudanese are trapped in a daily struggle to secure food, safety, and basic dignity.
Each month this year, WFP has reached 3.5 million people across Sudan with emergency food and nutrition support.
Two-thirds of those assisted are in Darfur and Kordofan, where famine is confirmed and where fighting is heaviest.
Aid Delivery Challenges
WFP teams are operating amid active conflict, shifting frontlines, bureaucratic hurdles, and severe access constraints.
Humanitarians are being targeted by perpetrators of the conflict.
On August 20, a WFP convoy was attacked near Mellit in Darfur, with three trucks damaged and set on fire.
The Rapid Support Forces accused the army of carrying out the attack during an air raid.
Thousands of families trapped in El-Fasher are threatened by famine.
More than 120 humanitarians have been killed since the war began in April 2023.
Global Compounding Factors
The crisis in Sudan is being dangerously compounded by wider global instability.
““Three years of war in Sudan is three years too many,” laments Ross Smith, Director of Emergency Preparedness and Response on the UN World Food Program (WFP)”
Disruptions to trade and shipping routes are driving up the cost of food, fuel, and fertilizer.
Fuel prices have already increased by over 24 percent.
This will affect the price of all staple goods and push more people into hunger.
Media attention, political will, and funding have not kept pace with realities on the ground.
WFP's message is simple and urgent: Do not let Sudan become a forgotten emergency.
More on Sudan
UN Chief Guterres Urges Immediate Halt to Arms Flow in Sudan War
12 sources compared
International Court Rejects Sudan's Genocide Case Against United Arab Emirates
11 sources compared
United Nations Condemns Sudan War As Neglected Crisis Amid Rising Atrocities
11 sources compared
Berlin Conference Co-Hosts Pledge €1.5 Billion Humanitarian Aid for Sudan Crisis
55 sources compared