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Areas of Sudan continued to face persistent risk of famine (IPC Phase 5 acute food insecurity) in October due to ongoing conflict, severe flooding, and skyrocketing food prices, according to a recent FEWS Net alert.
Sudan’s population of internally displaced persons (IDPs) is being particularly hard hit by the humanitarian crisis. In the Zamzam IDP camp, the population has experienced acute malnutrition rates even above IPC Phase 5, and similar extreme food insecurity threatens to spread to other IPD populations in Greater Darfur, South Kordofan, North and West Darfur, and Khartoum.
Sudan’s ongoing conflict has limited the movement of people and goods into North Darfur, including humanitarian aid. FEWS Net reports that since mid-August, only 141 aid trucks have crossed the border from Chad—far below the levels needed to make an impact on the quickly deteriorating food insecurity situation. Fewer than 10 percent of the population of the Zamzam Camp had received aid as of early October. The situation has been further complicated by the inability of international aid groups to access new nutrition supplies. With stocks of food aid supplies running low in the camp, further death due to starvation and disease is imminent.
North Darfur farming households also face severely limited access to their farms. FEWS Net reports this will lead to significantly below-average harvests in the region. These lower production levels, coupled with the inability of food supplies from other areas to reach North Darfur due to the fighting, mean that the upcoming harvests is not likely to lower acute food insecurity levels.
In South Kordofan, the combination of ongoing fighting and population displacement has led to food shortages in the market, as well as some of the highest food prices in the country: as much as 900 percent above their pre-war levels. Humanitarian aid to the region has been hampered, and heavy rains have further reduced access to populations in need.
Agricultural production in the region has also been severely disrupted by the ongoing conflict and population displacement. Similar to North Darfur, farming households have been unable to access their lands, and necessary agricultural inputs have been unavailable. November’s main harvest is not expected to be able to significantly diminish the risk of starvation and acute malnourishment in the region.
Sara Gustafson is a freelance communications consultant.