Sudan is on the Verge of the World’s Largest Hunger Crisis: Here’s How to Help

Nearly a year since the Sudanese army and the paramilitary group, Rapid Support Forces (RSF), began fighting in a civil war in the capital city of Khartoum, the violence has led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands, the displacements of millions and abhorrent living circumstances. This is despite promises to protect civilians amidst the rejections of ceasefire proposals.

According to the World Food Programme (WFP), the humanitarian crisis caused by the ongoing war is nearing the level of the current hunger crisis in Yemen. Concluding a visit to South Sudan, one of the countries many have fled to, WFP Executive Director Cindy McCainstated that, “Millions of lives and the peace and stability of an entire region are at stake.”

In its statement, the WFP further added that 90 percent of people facing emergency levels of hunger in Sudan are stuck in areas that are largely inaccessible. When the fighting first started, the United Nations humanitarian agency temporarily suspended operations due to the killing of three of its employees, but lifted the suspension in early May. However, its humanitarian work has been further disrupted by authorities revoking permissions for cross-border truck convoys, forcing a halt to WFP’s operations from Chad into Darfur.

Additionally, WFP warns that newly arrived displaced people in South Sudan make up 35 percent of those facing catastrophic levels of hunger – the highest possible level – despite accounting for less than 3 percent of the population. “I met mothers and children who have fled for their lives not once, but multiple times, and now hunger is closing in on them,” McCain says. “The consequences of inaction go far beyond a mother unable to feed her child and will shape the region for years to come.”

WFP’s warning is coming in the aftermath of a report that chronicles grave crimes against humanity, especially gender-based violence. In a report she described as, “52 pages of stomach-churning findings,” U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield says the RSF snipers, “indiscriminately targeted civilians, including women, pregnant women and young people.”

Currently, the United Nations Security Council is considering calling for an immediate cessation of hostilities ahead of Ramadan. United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, has shared a similar call, asking for the warring parties to stop the fighting for the sake of Sudanese citizens. “Hunger is stalking Sudan. Some 18 million people are acutely food insecure. This is the highest number ever recorded during a harvest season, yet numbers are expected to surge even higher in the coming months,’ Guterres says. “We are already receiving reports of children dying from malnutrition.”

For those that can, here are ways to help people affected by the food crisis in Sudan:

Donate to the UN’s World Food Programme here.

Donate to the International Rescue Committee here.

Donate to the UN’s refugee agency, UNHCR, here.

Donate to Doctors Without Borders here, as they’re helping a healthcare system on the brink of collapse.

Donate to CARE’s humanitarian efforts here.

Donate to Muslim Aid’s efforts here.

Donate to the International Committee of the Red Cross in Sudan here.

You can also share this news post with friends and family who can donate and help raise awareness.