"We are witnessing one of the worst humanitarian emergencies since the outbreak of the conflict in Sudan" - Save the Children

PORT SUDAN, (July 2024) Food stocks have plummeted to alarming new lows in Kadugli in Sudan's Kordofan region, with recent attacks on markets and villages this month killing hundreds and siege-conditions reaching a tipping point, said Save the Children.

A recent humanitarian assessment of displaced families in Kadugli found that 96% could not meet their basic needs. The report also found that 74% of families included at least one malnourished child, and 64% lacked adequate shelter. [1]

Mohamad Abdiladif, Country Director for Save the Children in Sudan, said: "We are witnessing one of the worst humanitarian emergencies since the outbreak of the conflict in Sudan in April 2023. Without immediate access to food and aid, entire communities are at risk of starvation.

"The recent violence in Kadugli underscores a severe food shortage, where three in four families have at least one malnourished child at home. We are extremely alarmed by this situation, where ongoing sieges are blocking the movement of people, goods, and life-saving aid.

"In Kadugli, the siege has severely restricted the movement of people and goods, triggering skyrocketing prices and acute shortages. This has led to the withdrawal of food from markets, leaving families and children in desperate need. The situation is equally dire in Al Fasher, Darfur, where ongoing violence and siege conditions have trapped civilians in increasingly desperate circumstances."

Save the Children is calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire and the establishment of safe, unrestricted corridors for aid agencies to reach affected populations in both cities. The organization also calls on all parties to the conflict to uphold international humanitarian law and ensure the protection of civilians.

Sudan was already facing one of the world's worst humanitarian crises before the conflict erupted in the capital, Khartoum, in April 2023, and the country is now facing the world's largest displacement crisis, with nearly 13 million people, or one in three, displaced. [2]

Save the Children has been working in Sudan since 1983 and is currently supporting children and their families across the country, providing health, nutrition, education, child protection, and food security and livelihoods support. Save the Children is also supporting refugees from Sudan in Egypt and South Sudan.

[1] ReliefWeb
 [2] UN