WHO Chief Warns of Famine Spreading in Sudan
The head of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, issued a grave warning on Wednesday that famine, already confirmed in parts of Sudan, could expand to other regions of the country and to South Sudan.
"Famine means we are already too late, and people are beginning to die from the effects of undernutrition."
Ghebreyesus highlighted that ongoing conflict, forced displacement, economic instability, and climate shocks are driving alarming levels of food insecurity in Sudan. He urgently called for a "massive scale up" of food assistance to respond to this crisis.
"There is no time to waste, but there are limitations to what we can do without humanitarian access."
Current Situation in Sudan
- Famine has been declared in El-Fasher and the besieged town of Kadugli, according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC).
- The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) recently took control of Bara and El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state.
- The conflict between RSF and the Sudanese army continues, with RSF denying targeting civilians.
- The International Criminal Court has warned that atrocities reported in El-Fasher may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Call for Humanitarian Access
The WHO chief emphasized that meaningful intervention depends on humanitarian organizations gaining access to affected areas. Without it, the scale of aid required to prevent further deaths is severely limited.
Impact of Conflict and Climate
Prolonged fighting and environmental factors are combining to deepen food insecurity and undernutrition, worsening an already dire humanitarian situation.
"Alarming levels of food insecurity are driven by conflict, displacement, economic instability and climate shocks."
Author’s summary: WHO warns that famine in Sudan is worsening and spreading due to conflict and climate shocks, urging immediate expansion of food aid and unrestricted humanitarian access to save lives.