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The United Nations (UN) has warned that food assistance operations in Sudan could grind to a halt by the end of March unless new funding is secured.
The World Food Programme (WFP) Director of Emergency Preparedness and Response, Ross Smith, said in a statement on Thursday that its food stocks in Sudan would be exhausted by the end of March, leaving millions without life-saving aid within weeks.
The agency disclosed that it has already been compelled to cut food rations to the bare minimum needed for survival.
“By the end of March, we will have depleted our food stocks in Sudan. Without immediate additional funding, millions of people will be left without vital food assistance within weeks,” he stated.
The alert comes nearly three years into Sudan’s civil war, in which fighting between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced about 11 million others.
UN figures show that more than 21 million people, almost half of Sudan’s population, are facing acute food insecurity.
A UN-backed assessment last year confirmed that famine has taken hold in El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, which fell to paramilitary forces in October.
Famine has also been confirmed in Kadugli, in neighbouring Kordofan, now a major conflict zone.
In Dilling, about 130 kilometres north, civilians are believed to be experiencing famine-like conditions, although insecurity and access constraints have so far prevented a formal declaration.
The UN has previously declared famine in three displacement camps around El-Fasher and in parts of the Nuba Mountains in southern Sudan, showcasing the deepening humanitarian catastrophe facing the country.
