The ongoing war in Sudan and severe restrictions on aid deliveries have resulted in famine in North Darfur’s Zamzam camp, with conditions likely affecting other parts of the conflict-ridden region. A committee of food security experts made this alarming determination, marking only the third such classification in 20 years.
Dire Situation in Darfur
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), an internationally recognized standard, confirmed famine in Zamzam camp, home to 500,000 internally displaced people. Located near the city of al-Fashir, the camp has been under siege by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), with no aid reaching it for months. The primary causes of the famine are the ongoing conflict and severely restricted humanitarian access.
The IPC’s Famine Review Committee (FRC) predicts that famine conditions in Zamzam will persist at least until October. Additionally, similar conditions are believed to be present in other displaced persons camps in Darfur, including Abu Shouk and Al Salam. The Sudanese government’s June IPC process identified 14 areas at risk of famine, including parts of El Gezira, Kordofan, and Khartoum states.
The war between Sudan’s army and the RSF, ongoing since April last year, has caused the world’s largest internal displacement crisis, leaving 25 million people—half the population—in urgent need of humanitarian aid. Both warring factions have been accused of obstructing aid deliveries, with the army-backed government prohibiting aid from Chad through the Adre border crossing and the alternative Tine crossing being inaccessible due to heavy rains.
The FRC has called for a ceasefire and unhindered humanitarian access to Darfur. Islamic Relief, a charity organization, reported rising numbers of children requiring treatment in clinics across Darfur and other parts of Sudan, warning that time is running out to save lives.
International Response Needed
Experts and U.N. officials emphasize that a famine classification could prompt a U.N. Security Council resolution, empowering agencies to deliver relief across borders to those most in need. The IPC includes U.N. agencies, regional bodies, and aid groups, with its most extreme warning being Phase 5, which includes catastrophe and famine.
In Zamzam, data from Médecins Sans Frontières revealed acute malnutrition rates exceeding the IPC famine threshold and a mortality rate of 1.9 deaths per 10,000 people per day. Satellite imagery analysis by Reuters identified rapidly expanding cemeteries in Darfur, further indicating increasing mortality due to starvation and disease.
The Sudanese government has signaled its opposition to any famine declaration, with envoy Al-Harith Idriss warning that such a declaration could invite external intervention. Despite this, the FRC’s findings highlight the urgent need for increased humanitarian access, funding, and political pressure to end the conflict.
Sudan’s lean season, when food availability is at its lowest, has exacerbated the crisis. Experts fear that even the upcoming harvest season will bring little relief, as war has prevented many farmers from planting crops. The international community’s response to this crisis will be crucial in addressing the dire humanitarian needs in Darfur.
Source: Reuters
