World Vision warns of rising death toll as famine conditions declared in North Darfur, Sudan

NAIROBI (August 2, 2024) – World Vision is warning that tens of thousands of people in Sudan face increased risk of starvation following confirmation of famine conditions in a displacement camp housing an estimated 400,000 people.

The Famine Review Committee of the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) a global, multi-party food security initiative, says famine thresholds have been passed in Zamzam camp in Sudan’s North Darfur region, south of the city of El Fasher, where fighting has been intensifying in recent months .

The declaration of IPC 5 (Famine) means that at least one in five people or households have an extreme lack of food, at least 30% of children suffer from acute malnutrition and two in every 10,000 people are dying each day due to starvation or the interaction of malnutrition and disease. Children under 5 are at extreme risk. The FRC warns that other regions of Sudan are at risk of famine without a swift humanitarian response, with over half of Sudan’s population – 25.6 million people – facing crisis levels of hunger or worse, and 755,000 on the brink of famine (IPC 5).

“This is confirmation of our worst fears coming to fruition – that thousands of people, including vulnerable children, will die from starvation,” said Edgar Sandoval Sr., World Vision’s president and CEO. “My prayer is that this will be a wake-up call for the world to pay attention to what’s happening in Sudan and mobilize resources to help. We are calling for unhindered, consistent access for humanitarian workers to get aid to the people who most need it. We must act now.”

Sudan is now the world’s largest hunger crisis as well as the largest child displacement crisis. Some 10 million people are displaced within Sudan, while some 2 million have fled the country. Since April 2023, more than 5 million children have been forced from their homes by violence , with 1 million fleeing to neighbouring countries including South Sudan, Chad, the Central African Republic and Ethiopia. In many cases, communities hosting refugees are already facing multiple crises themselves.

World Vision’s Sudan response operations director, Inos Mugabe, said, “The situation in Sudan is shocking and worsening. The declaration … is no surprise as the conflict has displaced millions of people inside Sudan and across borders, leaving many, many thousands of people with little or no access to food. We are at a tipping point where the situation is spiraling out of control and many thousands will die unless food gets to where it is needed.”

World Vision is one of the largest humanitarian agencies in Sudan. Since the escalation of an ongoing conflict in April 2023, World Vision has reached more than 1.8 million people, most of them women and children, with food and cash assistance, health and nutrition services, and water, sanitation and hygiene support. World Vision is currently present in the states of Blue Nile, South Darfur, East Darfur and South Kordofan as well responding to the needs of Sudanese refugees in South Sudan, Chad, Ethiopia, and the Central African Republic.

[1] https://www.ipcinfo.org/ipcinfo-website/countries-in-focus-archive/issue-107/en/
[2] https://www.ipcinfo.org/ipc-country-analysis/details-map/en/c/1157066/?iso3=SDN
[3] https://reliefweb.int/report/sudan/entire-generation-children-sudan-faces-catastrophe-war-enters-its-second-year-enar#:~:text=Sudan%20has%20also%20become%20the,%2C%20Egypt%2C%20and%20South%20Sudan.

About World Vision
World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice. World Vision serves all people, regardless of religion, race, ethnicity or gender. For more information, please visit worldvision.org or follow on X, formerly known as Twitter, @WorldVisionUSA.