Sudan one of the ‘worst humanitarian disasters in recent memory’, UN

“By all measures – the sheer scale of humanitarian needs, the numbers of people displaced and facing hunger – Sudan is one of the worst humanitarian disasters in recent memory,” Edem Wosornu, director of operations at the UN Office for the Coordination for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said on Wednesday.

According to the UN, the conflict has led to more than eight million people being displaced.

More than 18 million Sudanese are facing acute food insecurity – 10 million more than at this time last year – while 730,000 Sudanese children are believed to be suffering from severe malnutrition.

Griffiths warned the Security Council last week that “almost five million people could slip into catastrophic food insecurity in some parts of the country in the coming months”.

The deputy executive director of the UN World Food Programme (WFP), Carl Skau, also said on Wednesday, “If we are going to prevent Sudan from becoming the world’s largest hunger crisis, coordinated efforts and joined-up diplomacy is urgent and critical.”

“Most of the people arriving here are hungry,” said Al Jazeera’s Malcolm Webb, reporting from the border camp in Renk

“They come from parts of Sudan that have been cut off from food, and other essential supplies because of the fighting.”