Arabic version: دول غربية تحذّر من تفاقم أزمة الجوع في السودان
According to BBC News, the United States and 30 other Western states have warned of an “alarming deterioration” in food security in Sudan and called on the parties in the civil war to remove barriers to humanitarian aid to prevent famine.
A joint statement signed by EU states, the UK, Canada, Switzerland and Norway, as well as the US, said conflict was the main driver of the hunger crisis. It said fighting had damaged critical infrastructure and disrupted food production. The war began in April 2023 following a power struggle between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, and has displaced 14 million people.
The statement estimated that 19.5 million people, or 41% of Sudan’s population, were experiencing high levels of acute food insecurity, including five million facing emergency levels of hunger. It warned that the number of children suffering severe acute malnutrition could exceed the projected 825,000 without immediate action.
Yusuf Roble, regional director for Islamic Relief East Africa, told BBC Newsday that people returning to Omdurman were finding their homes destroyed or looted. “There is very little to survive on,” he said. Roble also said only 40% of Sudan’s 2026 humanitarian needs plan had been funded as of September, while community kitchens supporting families faced funding cuts.
The signatories said the crisis was worsened by systematic obstruction of aid and El Niño-related reduced rainfall and drought across more than half of Sudan. They said the warring parties bore primary responsibility for easing suffering and urged them to allow full, safe, rapid and unimpeded humanitarian access. The World Health Organization has described the situation as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, with more than 33 million people needing assistance.
