The UN has expressed alarm over the worsening food situation in Sudan.
In a press statement on Tuesday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres, through the spokesman Stephane Dujarric, said almost 26 million men, women and children were acutely hungry in the war-ravaged country.
Equating the figure to the entire population of Australia, the statement said 750,000 of the affected were just one step away from famine – which translates as Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) Phase 5.
The statement noted that rising food prices, access challenges, and the impact of conflict were compounding people’s limited access to food.
Some food prices, the statement said, had soared by over 120 per cent in just one year.
“Last month, the price of local food increased by 16 per cent compared to May. It was also 120 per cent higher than in June of last year,” the statement reads.
It predicted a worsening situation with the onset of the rainy season, noting that the Tine border crossing, used to transport goods from Chad into Sudan’s Darfur region, was currently impassable due to heavy rains and flooding. Many routes in the southern part of Sudan were also inaccessible.
The statement said the humanitarian community in Sudan urgently needed access via all possible routes to avert a further deterioration of the situation. Additional funding was also crucial, as the Sudan humanitarian was only 30 per cent funded.