Food supplies to some Sudan refugees could dry up within 2 months: WFP
More than 4-million refugees have fled Sudan's more than two-year civil war to seven neighbouring countries where shelter conditions are widely viewed as inadequate due to chronic funding shortages.
"Unless new funding is secured, all refugees will face assistance cuts in the coming months," Shaun Hughes, the WFP's emergency coordinator for the Sudan regional crisis, told a Geneva press briefing, calling for $200m (R3.54bn) over six months.
"In the case of four countries — that's the Central African Republic, Egypt, Ethiopia and Libya — WFP's operations are now so severely underfunded, that all support could cease in the coming months as resources run dry," he said, clarifying later that this could happen within two months.
Many of those fleeing are escaping from hunger hotspots in Sudan.
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Crops wither in war-torn Sudan as power cuts cripple irrigation
KHARTOUM - Hatem Abdelhamid stands amid his once-thriving date palms in northern Sudan, helpless as a prolonged war-driven power outage cripples irrigation, causing devastating crop losses and deepening the country's food crisis. "I've lost 70 to 75 percent of my crops this year," he said, surveying the dying palms in Tanqasi, a village on the Nile in Sudan's Northern State. "I'm trying really hard to keep the rest of the crops alive," he told AFP. Sudan's agricultural sector - already battered by a two-year conflict and economic crisis - is now facing another crushing blow from the nationwide power outages. Since the war between the regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces began in April 2023, state-run power plants have been repeatedly targeted, suffering severe damage and ultimately leaving farms without water. Like most Sudanese farms, Abdelhamid's depends on electric-powered irrigation - but the system has been down "for over two months" due to the blackouts. Sudan had barely recovered from the devastating 1985 drought and famine when war erupted again in 2023, delivering a fresh blow to the country's agriculture. Agriculture remains the main source of food and income for 80% of the population, according to the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Now in its third year, the conflict has plunged more than half the population into acute food insecurity, with famine already taking hold in at least five areas and millions more at risk across conflict-hit regions in the west, centre and south. The war has also devastated infrastructure, killed tens of thousands of people, and displaced 13 million. WIPED OUT A 2024 joint study by the United Nations Development Programme and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) found that nearly a third of rural households have lost irrigation and water access since the war began. Without electricity to power his irrigation system, Abdelhamid - like thousands of farmers across the country - was forced to rely on diesel-powered pumps. But with fuel scarce and prices now more than 20 times higher than before the war, even that option is out of reach for many. "I used to spend 10,000 Sudanese pounds [about four euros according to the black-market rate] for irrigation each time," said another farmer, Abdelhalim Ahmed. "Now it costs me 150,000 pounds [around 60 euros] because there is no electricity," he told AFP. Ahmed said he has lost three consecutive harvests - including crops like oranges, onions, tomatoes and dates. With seeds, fertilisers and fuel now barely available, many farmers say they won't be able to replant for the next cycle. In April, the FAO warned that "below average rainfall', and ongoing instability were closing the window to prevent further deterioration. A June study by IFPRI also projected Sudan's overall economic output could shrink by as much as 42% if the war continues, with the agricultural sector contracting by more than a third. "Our analysis shows massive income losses across all households and a sharp rise in poverty, especially in rural areas and among women," said Khalid Siddig, a senior research fellow at IFPRI.
TimesLIVE
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Food supplies to some Sudan refugees could dry up within 2 months: WFP
Food aid to help Sudanese refugees in four neighbouring countries could end within the next couple of months without an urgent injection of new funding, a World Food Programme (WFP) official said on Tuesday, warning of rising malnutrition levels. More than 4-million refugees have fled Sudan's more than two-year civil war to seven neighbouring countries where shelter conditions are widely viewed as inadequate due to chronic funding shortages. "Unless new funding is secured, all refugees will face assistance cuts in the coming months," Shaun Hughes, the WFP's emergency coordinator for the Sudan regional crisis, told a Geneva press briefing, calling for $200m (R3.54bn) over six months. "In the case of four countries — that's the Central African Republic, Egypt, Ethiopia and Libya — WFP's operations are now so severely underfunded, that all support could cease in the coming months as resources run dry," he said, clarifying later that this could happen within two months. Many of those fleeing are escaping from hunger hotspots in Sudan.
Eyewitness News
30-06-2025
- Eyewitness News
Sudan refugees face deepening hunger as funds dry up: UN
KHARTOUM - Millions of people displaced by the war in Sudan are at risk of falling deeper into crisis as funding for food aid dwindles, the UN's World Food Programme warned Monday. Since April 2023, war between the Sudanese army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has created the world's largest displacement crisis, with more than 10 million people displaced inside the country. Another four million have fled across borders, mainly to Chad, Egypt and South Sudan. "This is a full-blown regional crisis that's playing out in countries that already have extreme levels of food insecurity and high levels of conflict," said Shaun Hughes, WFP's emergency coordinator for the Sudan regional crisis. The United Nations says its humanitarian response plan for Sudan – also the world's largest hunger crisis – is only 14.4 percent funded. A UN conference in Spain this week aims to rally international donors, following deep funding shortfalls that have affected relief operations globally. The WFP warned support to Sudanese refugees in Egypt, Ethiopia, Libya and the Central African Republic "may grind to a halt in the coming months as resources run dry". In Egypt, which hosts around 1.5 million people who fled Sudan, food aid for 85,000 refugees - 36 percent of those previously supported - had already been cut. Without new funding, the WFP warned, all assistance to the most vulnerable refugees would be suspended by August. In Chad, where more than 850,000 people have fled but find little help in overwhelmed camps, the WFP said food rations would be reduced even further. Around 1,000 refugees continue to arrive in Chad each day from Sudan's western Darfur region, where famine has already been declared and displacement camps regularly come under attack. "Refugees from Sudan are fleeing for their lives and yet are being met with more hunger, despair, and limited resources on the other side of the border," said Hughes. "Food assistance is a lifeline for vulnerable refugee families with nowhere else to turn." Inside Sudan, more than eight million people are estimated to be on the brink of famine, with nearly 25 million suffering dire food insecurity.
