Sudan's Escalating Famine Crisis, According to Global Hunger Authorities

The image shared by the Norwegian Refugee Council highlights displaced women and children from the city of El-Fasher, finding refuge in a camp located in Tawilia, within the Darfur area of Sudan, amid brutal clashes between governmental and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

CAIRO — A global hunger surveillance organization reports that the famine has expanded to two regions of conflict-stricken Sudan, including a key city in Darfur under attack by paramilitary factions. This situation is exacerbating what is regarded as the world's most severe humanitarian crisis.

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a leading global entity for assessing hunger emergencies, identified famine conditions in El-Fasher in Darfur and Kadugli in South Kordofan. Additionally, 20 more locations across Darfur and Kordofan stand at a high risk of experiencing famine.

El-Fasher has endured an 18-month-long siege by the RSF, disrupting the supply of essential food and goods to a populace numbering in the tens of thousands. Recently, RSF forces took control of El-Fasher, launching attacks that reportedly claimed hundreds of lives, though due to poor communications, the full extent of the violence remains unclear.

Kadugli, likewise besieged by RSF forces for months, consists of numerous inhabitants left isolated as the paramilitary unit attempts to expand its controlled territories at the expense of the Sudanese military.

Alarmingly High Malnutrition Rates

Sudan has been torn apart by war since April 2023. Official UN statistics indicate over 40,000 fatalities, but various aid organizations argue the actual numbers are significantly higher. The ongoing conflict has caused the displacement of over 14 million individuals and has exacerbated the spread of diseases.

According to the most recent IPC findings, both El-Fasher and Kadugli are witnessing 'complete livelihood breakdowns, widespread hunger, severe malnutrition, and death.'

Famine criteria are met when two or more people per 10,000, or four young children, succumb to malnutrition-related causes daily. Additionally, famine conditions persist where one in five people faces food insecurity and at least 30% of children under five are acutely malnourished, based on specific growth measurements.

The IPC has historically verified famines in a limited number of places, such as northern Gaza earlier this year amid the conflict between Israel and Hamas, as well as Somalia in 2011 and South Sudan across multiple instances from 2017 to 2020.

Previous IPC famine declarations in Sudan covered five areas, including large refugee settlements near El-Fasher now deserted due to advancing RSF troops which forced the inhabitants to either flee to El-Fasher or nearby locations. Other affected regions fell under RSF control in South and West Kordofan.

Towns surrounding El-Fasher, such as Tawila, Melit, and Tawisha, face potential famine threats, according to the latest report.

As of September, approximately 375,000 people in Darfur and Kordofan were thrust into famine, with 6.3 million people nationwide confronting extreme hunger conditions.

RSF's Strategic Focus in Darfur

After the Sudanese military reclaimed Khartoum earlier this year, the RSF shifted its strategic military focus towards Darfur in the west and sought control over Kordofan to establish essential supply routes toward the heart of the nation.

Save the Children highlighted in September that food reserves in Kadugli were completely depleted amid intensifying combat scenarios.

A similar situation was reported in Dilling, another Kordofan town, yet famine was not declared due to insufficient data, as highlighted in the latest IPC documentation.

The IPC indicated that more than 21 million individuals in Sudan, which accounts for approximately 45% of the populace, were experiencing critical food insecurity by September. This marks a 6% reduction from prior evaluations covering December 2024 to May of the current year.

This decrease is attributed to diminished conflict and enhanced relief efforts in Khartoum, neighboring Gezira, and the eastern Sennar provinces after military control was reinstated in Khartoum and Gezira, enabling more than a million people to return home.

The IPC urgently calls for a ceasefire as the singular path to prevent further fatalities and manage the precarious levels of severe malnutrition and food scarcity.