Sudan Refugees Face Worsening Hunger Crisis as Food Aid Funding Dries Up
Millions displaced by Sudan’s ongoing conflict are at increasing risk of hunger as funding for food aid diminishes, Arab News reported citing the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP). Since April 2023, fighting between the Sudanese army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has caused the world’s largest displacement crisis, with over 10 million people displaced internally and another 4 million fleeing mainly to Chad, Egypt, and South Sudan.
Shaun Hughes, WFP’s emergency coordinator for the Sudan crisis, described the situation as a “full-blown regional crisis” affecting countries already struggling with food insecurity and conflict. The UN’s humanitarian response plan for Sudan, which faces the world’s largest hunger crisis, is only 14.4 percent funded.
A UN donor conference in Spain this week aims to boost international support amid global relief funding shortfalls. The WFP cautioned that assistance to Sudanese refugees in Egypt, Ethiopia, Libya, and the Central African Republic could halt in coming months as resources run out.
In Egypt, hosting about 1.5 million Sudanese refugees, food aid for 85,000 refugees has already been cut by 36 percent. Without new funds, all aid to vulnerable refugees may stop by August. In Chad, where over 850,000 refugees live in overcrowded camps, food rations are set to decrease further. Around 1,000 refugees continue arriving daily from Darfur, where famine has been declared.
Inside Sudan, nearly 8 million people face famine, with almost 25 million suffering severe food insecurity.
