Sudan – Terrifying numbers on hunger and malnutrition rates
“The World Food Program (WFP) fears 19 million people will suffer from hunger and malnutrition over the coming months in Sudan, as the military and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) struggle continues, a UN spokesman said on Friday.”
WFP “expects the number of people suffering from acute food insecurity in Sudan to rise between 2 million and 2.5 million,” said UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq.
“In May 2023, taking into account the current conflict, we can estimate that the total number (of these people) will rise to 19 million between the next 3 and 6 months, if the conflict continues,” he said.
“According to a WFP report in early 2023, 16.8 million Sudanese out of a total population of 45 million were suffering from acute food insecurity, an increase of one million over the previous year.”
“The UN has warned that the Sudanese states most affected will be West Darfur, Kordofan, Blue Nile, Red Sea State and North Darfur.”
In March 2023, 14.8 million Sudanese families were unable to afford the basic “food basket,” the report said, describing this as a “worrying statistic indeed.”
“He warned that if the conflict continues, the price of a basket could rise by 25 per cent in three to six months, which could bring the number of families unable to reach them to 18 million.”
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned on Friday that the three-week-old fighting in Sudan is claiming the lives of children “in horrific numbers,” adding that seven children are reported killed and wounded every hour.
“As we feared and feared, the situation in Sudan has become frighteningly deadly for so many children,” UNICEF spokesman James Elder told reporters in Geneva.
“He said the organization had received reports from a reliable partner – which the UN has yet to independently verify – that 190 children were killed and 1,700 injured during the first 11 days of fighting that began on 15 April.”
“Hundreds of people have been killed and hundreds of thousands have fled their homes in Sudan since fighting began three weeks ago between the army, led by Abdul Fattah al-Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), led by Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.”
“Both sides agreed to a number of short truces, but none was fully respected, and airstrikes and armed clashes continued Friday in Khartoum for the 21st day in a row.”
