Port Sudan – The humanitarian situation in Sudan is at “a catastrophic breaking point” according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
The stark warning comes as famine and floods add to the catalogue of challenges facing millions of people struggling to cope in the world’s largest displacement crisis following 16 months of brutal conflict.
Within the past week, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) Famine Review Committee (FRC) reported famine conditions in Zamzam camp near Al Fasher town in North Darfur – home to half a million displaced people. The camp is witnessing extreme food scarcity, resulting in rocketing rates of malnutrition and death. Almost all internally displaced persons across Sudan (97 per cent) are in localities with acute levels of food insecurity or worse.
New figures show displacement continues to soar, with over 10.7 million people seeking safety within the country, many displaced twice or more. Fighting in Sennar state alone displaced over 700,000 people last month, 63 per cent of whom were originally displaced from other states, the majority from Khartoum.
This is being compounded by widespread flooding which has displaced more than 20,000 people since June across 11 of Sudan’s 18 states. Critical infrastructure has been washed away, further disrupting the delivery of vital humanitarian assistance.
“Make no mistake, these conditions will persist and worsen if the conflict and restrictions on humanitarian access continue”, said Othman Belbeisi, IOM’s Regional Director for Middle East North Africa.
“Without an immediate, massive, and coordinated global response, we risk witnessing tens of thousands of preventable deaths in the coming months. We are at breaking point, a catastrophic, cataclysmic breaking point.”
Humanitarian and protection conditions in Sudan are among the worst in the world. The ongoing conflict is marked by appalling levels of rights violations, ethnic targeting, massacres of civilian populations and gender-based violence.
Over the next three months, an estimated 25.6 million people will face acute food insecurity as the conflict spreads and coping mechanisms are exhausted. The FRC has already warned that many other areas throughout Sudan remain at risk of famine.
Restrictions on humanitarian access, including impediments imposed by parties to the conflict, have severely curtailed the ability of aid organizations to scale up and save lives, especially during the current rainy season. Despite these restrictions, IOM and its partners continue to respond and have reached more than two million people with life-saving assistance since the start of the conflict.
Urgent funding is required to scale up the response and reach those still in desperate need of food, shelter, water, health services, and specialized protection.
For more information, please contact:
In Port Sudan: Lisa George, lgeorge@iom.int
In Cairo: Joe Lowry, jlowry@iom.int
In Geneva: Daniela Rovina, drovina@iom.int
