The UN World Food Programme (WFP) today announced a surge in its operations across Sudan, part of a scale-up effort to reach millions of people in the country’s most needy and isolated conflict areas.
More than 700 trucks carrying WFP food aid are on route to communities across Sudan. This includes 14 locations that WFP categorizes as “hotspots” due to the severity of food insecurity and famine risk in those areas.
In total, the trucks will carry about 17,500 tons of food assistance, enough to feed 1.5 million people for one month. Since September, WFP has delivered food assistance to an average of 2 million people each month across Sudan – a number that will grow with this latest surge effort.
Today, the first food aid convoy arrived in North Darfur’s Zamzam camp, where famine has already been confirmed, while further convoys remain on route to other hard-to-reach areas.
“WFP has been pushing to reach all isolated conflict zones across Sudan. The team in Sudan is working around the clock to make sure families receive the life-saving food necessary to survive. We desperately need this to be successful if we are to turn the tide of famine in one of the world’s worst hunger crises,” said Laurent, Bukera, WFP’s Regional Director for Eastern Africa. “These trucks carry more than just food; they carry a lifeline for people caught in the crossfire of conflict and hunger. We need guaranteed safe passage for our trucks and sustained international support to reach every family at risk.”
Sudan now holds half of the world’s population facing catastrophic hunger (IPC5). An estimated 4.7 million children under the age of five, and pregnant and/or breastfeeding women, are suffering from acute malnutrition, further underscoring the need for uninterrupted aid delivery and sustained international support.
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The WFP convoy that arrived in North Darfur’s Zamzam is the first to arrive at the camp since famine was confirmed in August. The combination of fighting around North Darfur’s capital El Fasher, and impassable roads brought on by the rainy season from June to September, severed incoming transport of food assistance for months. In the interim, WFP drew on locally sourced food commodities to feed 100,000 people in the camp during September and October.
Year-to-date, WFP has reached 7 million people in Sudan and aims to support over 8 million of the most acutely hungry by the end of 2024.
WFP welcomed the recent decision by Sudanese authorities to extend by three months, the opening of the Adre crossing, which facilitates humanitarian shipments across border from Chad into Sudan. WFP reiterates its call for all border crossings into Sudan to remain open and fully operational, so that life-saving aid can reach those in urgent need.
WFP’s Executive Director, Cindy McCain, recently visited Port Sudan, where she stressed the need for consistent and secure access to prevent the spread of famine and address an emergency that threatens to become one of the worst hunger crises in recent history.
