World Food Program: Sudan is on the verge of “the largest hunger crisis in the world”

The World Food Program warned that the war that has been going on in Sudan for nearly 11 months “may create the largest hunger crisis in the world.”

The Director of the World Food Program, Cindy McCain, said, "The battles that left thousands dead and displaced eight million people threaten the lives of millions and threaten peace and stability in the entire region."

She added: "Twenty years ago, Darfur witnessed the largest hunger crisis in the world and the world united its efforts to confront it, but the Sudanese are forgotten today."

McCain stressed that "unless the violence stops, the war in Sudan may create the largest hunger crisis in the world."

In South Sudan, where 600,000 people have taken refuge to escape the war, “one in every five children in shelters at the border suffers from malnutrition,” according to McCain.

According to the World Food Programme, less than “5% of Sudanese can provide themselves with a full meal” at the present time.

Doctors Without Borders said that "a child dies every two hours in the Zamzam refugee camp in Darfur."

18 million Sudanese suffer from severe food insecurity, and five million of them are on the brink of famine, while the humanitarian relief workers who help them suffer from difficulties in movement and a significant lack of funding, according to the Associated Agency.

The war broke out in Sudan in April 2023 due to disagreements over the powers of the army and the Rapid Support Forces as part of an internationally supported plan for a political transition towards civilian rule and holding elections.

The army and the Rapid Support Forces shared power with civilians after the fall of former President Omar al-Bashir in a popular uprising in 2019, before they participated in a coup two years later.

The conflict destroyed parts of Sudan, including the capital, Khartoum, and claimed the lives of more than 13,000 people, according to United Nations estimates, and sparked warnings of famine and created a displacement crisis.