August 2, 2024, Port Sudan – The recently published report by the Famine Review Committee has confirmed our worst fears: a man-made famine has taken hold of one of Darfur’s largest displacement sites: Zamzam camp near Al Fasher, the besieged capital of North Darfur. Over recent months, conflict spiralled in the state and drove an estimated 150,000 to 200,000 people fleeing to Zamzam, bringing the total population of the camp to over half a million. The camp’s residents are now trapped in deprivation, unable to leave, farm or access food. Critically, they have been deprived from the aid they so desperately need.
Over 25 million people across Sudan are now facing severe acute food insecurity, with over 8.5 million people in IPC Phase 4 (Emergency) and 755,000 in IPC Phase 5. The humanitarian community has been warning for months that people, especially children, are dying due to hunger-related causes across Sudan, including in Zamzam. The confirmation of famine conditions in Zamzam camp only scratches the surface of a much broader catastrophe. Across Darfur, Kordofan, Khartoum, Al Jazira, our teams and local responders report stories of children dying of malnutrition, mothers barely surviving on one meal a day, eating boiled leaves and a handful of cereals. In Kalma camp, South Darfur, NGOs reported that 1 in every 4 children under 5 was acutely malnourished with some health facilities in the state reporting that between 4 to 5 children die each day from malnutrition related causes. In Central Darfur, in some areas over 90% of children under 5 suffer from acute malnutrition. The situation in Zamzam is the only one that the IPC could independently verify, but the lack of data hides the true extent of this crisis. If nothing changes, countless other communities across Sudan will starve to death amidst the world’s indifference.
The conduct of the conflict parties is largely responsible for this historical crisis. Over the past 15 months of unabated conflict, blatant violations of international humanitarian law such as the shattering of essential infrastructure, the destruction of means of livelihood, and widespread obstructions of the delivery of humanitarian assistance have led to mass-scale starvation. Across entire areas of Khartoum, Al Jazira, Kordofan and Darfur, communities are receiving only a trickle of assistance due to conflict parties’ refusal to allow aid at the scale and speed that is needed, through the appropriate corridors, and with the necessary safety guarantees. Complex approval processes mean that life saving food and nutrition commodities can take months to reach those most in need as medical supplies have been actively blocked from entering El Fasher by the warring parties.
At the same time, the international community has been unbearably slow to prevent a tragedy we knew was coming for months. The general apathy towards the suffering of the people of Sudan and lack of urgency in the humanitarian response have only exacerbated the situation. Seven months into the year the response has not even received a third of funding required to address the population’s urgent needs and efficient modalities such as cash programming and support to local responders are still not receiving the investments necessary to bring the response to the scale required by the colossal needs.
It is our collective responsibility to bring an end to this crisis. We call for the urgent roll out of the recommendations made by the Famine Review Committee, and emphasise:
