UN agencies warn of catastrophic famine as conflict between Sudan’s rival generals intensifies.
BY GUEST ESSAY:
The humanitarian crisis in Sudan worsens with escalating conflict and a looming famine. UN human rights chief Volker Türk urges Sudanese generals to cease hostilities and ensure humanitarian aid access.
As famine threatens Sudan, the humanitarian crisis is spiraling out of control. The UN’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights reported that UN human rights chief Volker Türk had separate phone calls with Sudan’s rival generals to try to deescalate the conflict.
“The high commissioner warned both commanders that fighting in el-Fasher, where more than 1.8 million residents and internally displaced people are encircled and at imminent risk of famine, would have a catastrophic impact on civilians and would deepen intercommunal conflict with disastrous humanitarian consequences,” said Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the high commissioner, in Geneva on Friday.
The fighting for control of el-Fasher, the last stronghold of the Sudanese Armed Forces in western Darfur, escalated dramatically last week. The United Nations reports that at least 58 civilians have been killed and 213 injured.
During separate telephone conversations with Sudanese Armed Forces Commander Lieutenant-General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Commander of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, Türk appealed to both generals to put the interests of the people first. He expressed his “deep distress” at the situation in Sudan and urged them to take specific concrete steps to cease hostilities, resume peace negotiations, ensure access to adequate humanitarian assistance, and ensure their troops and allied forces fully respect international humanitarian and human rights law.
Both generals acknowledged the importance of respecting international humanitarian law, and SAF Commander Burhan indicated that he would facilitate visas for more UN human rights staff. Shamdasani highlighted the importance of having more UN staff on the ground to cover the crisis more closely, noting that her office currently has only one international staff member in Port Sudan.
Since the conflict between the SAF and RSF erupted in mid-April 2023, over 15,500 people have been killed, approximately 33,000 others injured, and an estimated 6.8 million have been displaced within the country. Jens Laerke, OCHA spokesperson, stated that half of Sudan’s population, 25 million people, need humanitarian aid. However, efforts to support the most affected are severely underfunded, with only 12% of the UN’s $2.7 billion appeal met.
“This is not just an underfunded appeal; it is a catastrophically underfunded appeal,” Laerke said. “People in Sudan are staring famine in the face.” The World Health Organization (WHO) warns that famine is looming, especially in parts of Darfur and in the capital, Khartoum, with more than one-third of the population facing acute hunger.
Dr. Shible Sahbani, the WHO representative in Sudan, reported a 22% increase in acute malnutrition among under-5 children and pregnant and breastfeeding women, rising from 3.9 million to 4.9 million people in 2024. The recent escalation of violence in Darfur, particularly in el-Fasher, is causing more civilian deaths and injuries, and access to health facilities is being hampered by the ensuing insecurity.
The WHO has recorded 62 verified attacks on healthcare, with two-thirds of Sudan’s 18 states currently experiencing multiple outbreaks of deadly diseases such as cholera, measles, dengue fever, and malaria. These outbreaks are likely to worsen during the upcoming rainy season, making it even harder to reach those in desperate need.
“We stand ready to do more and utilize all available avenues to reach the most vulnerable populations across Sudan, but we need assurances of security for our staff and supplies,” Sahbani said. “Health cannot be ensured in the absence of peace.”
