Sudan’s Famine Risk Worsened by Conflict, Drought and Funding Shortages, Report Says

Conflict and drought are worsening food insecurity across parts of Sudan’s Darfur and Kordofan regions, a global food crisis monitor warned on Monday. There is a “deteriorating humanitarian situation” across greater Darfur and Kordofan, including areas identified as at risk of famine, as well as other locations, according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, or IPC. Severe drought linked to El Niño is affecting more than half of Sudan, causing localized crop failures and depriving households of food and income, it said. In May, nearly 19.5 million people — more than 40% of the population — were facing high levels of acute food insecurity, according to an IPC assessment. Of those, 135,000 were in Phase 5, the most severe classification, characterized by extreme food shortages, starvation, very high levels of malnutrition and deaths from disease or acute malnutrition. AP