Africa is not new to conflicts. Of all the 110 armed conflicts raging globally, 35 are currently wreaking havoc on millions of lives on the continent. Amid the gloom, there appears a glimmer of hope.
South Darfur, a violence-ridden region in western Sudan, has witnessed a slight uptick in critical aid as the United Nations’ World Food Program (WFP) delivered essential food and nutrition to some families.
However, humanitarian organizations emphasize that more assistance is needed to address the growing crisis.
The WFP mission in Sudan announced that over 50,000 people in hunger-stricken areas across South Darfur are receiving vital food assistance in collaboration with the relief agency World Vision.
Despite this progress, the WFP needed to specify the time frame for the distribution or the methods used to deliver the supplies. Requests for additional information from WFP spokespersons went unanswered.
Since April last year, the conflict has claimed over 14,000 lives and injured 33,000 more, according to the United Nations.
“The number of people in South Darfur that suffer from hunger is vast and on top of that, there is a significant shortage of funds,” said Yonas Mesele, deputy country director for Sudan with the French humanitarian organization Action Against Hunger.
Mesele highlighted that out of the estimated $581.2 million needed to meet humanitarian needs in Sudan, only 26% had been secured. This figure was revealed at the Food Security and Livelihoods Cluster Coordination meeting on June 13.
The ongoing conflict has displaced over 4.6 million people, reports the U.N. migration agency. This includes more than 3.6 million internally displaced individuals and over 1 million who have fled to neighboring countries.
U.N. refugee chief Filippo Grandi, who concluded his second visit to Sudan since the outbreak of the war on Wednesday, June 19, warned of a looming famine and severe floods that will further hamper aid deliveries.
Grandi visited refugee camps and centers for displaced Sudanese, warning that without concerted peace efforts, the violence would drive even more people to flee.
He pointed to escalating violence in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, and atrocities reportedly committed against civilians in Jazeera state.
The Darfur region, particularly South Darfur, has seen some of the most brutal attacks since the conflict began.
Starvation Alarm Rings
A recent report by the Clingendael Institute, a Dutch think-tank, warned that the population in South Darfur is at risk of dying from hunger.
The report projected that around 2.5 million people in Sudan could face starvation by the end of September 2024, with about 15% of the population in Darfur and Kordofan being the worst affected.
“Time is running out to avoid a rapid deterioration of the conflict-induced food insecurity crisis,” said Samy Guessabi, country director for Sudan with Action Against Hunger.
He urged the international community and the parties involved in the conflict to take immediate action to alleviate hunger and prevent a catastrophic malnutrition emergency.
In May, the WFP reported that at least 1.7 million people are already experiencing emergency levels of hunger in Darfur, including Al Fasher, the besieged capital of North Darfur.
Despite these “devastating levels of hunger,” food assistance deliveries have been “intermittent due to fighting and endless bureaucratic hurdles,” the WFP stated.
In April, the U.N. initiated food distributions in Darfur for the first time in months, marking a critical step in addressing the urgent needs of the population.
However, the humanitarian situation remains dire, and the need for sustained and increased aid efforts is more pressing than ever.
The international community faces a crucial challenge in addressing the escalating hunger crisis in South Darfur and across Sudan.
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