UN warning: Sudan faces famine threat amid funding shortages, increased conflict, and displacement.

The UN program said it was short about $698 million of the approximately $800 million it requested from donors to assist 7 million people between May and September.

The programme warned that it would face shortages of cereals, pulses, and ready-to-eat meals, for example, starting in May, amid a growing trend among donor countries to reduce funding for humanitarian operations.

The programme indicated that food rations in areas at risk of famine have been reduced to 70% of the usual rations.

"We stress the need to ensure the flow of funding at a very critical time as we enter the rainy season, the hunger season in Sudan, and at a time when conflict is escalating and displacement is increasing," Samantha Chattarg, WFP's emergency coordinator in Sudan, told reporters via video link from Port Sudan.

War broke out in Sudan in April 2023 due to a power struggle between the army and the Rapid Support Forces, displacing millions.

The World Food Programme said it is mobilizing support for those in need across the country, including some 450,000 people displaced from Zamzam camp in North Darfur after Rapid Support Forces took control of it this month.

He added that he had provided assistance to nearly four million people across Sudan in March, the highest number in a single month since the conflict began, and that he was now able to reach more areas after overcoming bureaucratic challenges and security risks.

The program indicated that more trucks loaded with aid are expected to arrive in the coming days.