Famine Declared in Sudan’s Darfur Region Amid Ongoing Civil War
In a distressing development amidst Sudan’s prolonged civil conflict, famine has been officially declared in the city of El Fasher in the Darfur region. This announcement was made by two prominent organizations dedicated to monitoring global hunger on Thursday. The situation has become dire for the thousands who have sought refuge in the Zamzam camp, located near El Fasher, where they have been grappling with famine conditions since June. The camp has swelled in size, now sheltering approximately half a million individuals, all facing severe food shortages as aid has been unable to reach them.
The formal declaration of famine is a significant and rare occurrence, intended to mobilize immediate support from donor nations and humanitarian organizations. This alarming situation illustrates the consequences of the ongoing conflict between rival military factions, which has transformed a nation once celebrated for its agricultural abundance into a landscape of deepening hunger and humanitarian disaster.
In addition to Zamzam, two other camps in El Fasher—Abu Shouk and Al Salam—are believed to be experiencing famine conditions as well. However, the limited available evidence has made it challenging to confirm the extent of the crisis in these locations. The organizations involved in the assessment include the Famine Early Warning Systems Network, a research group funded by the United States government, and the independent Famine Review Committee, composed of expert analysts in humanitarian crises.
Experts utilize a stringent methodology to determine the classification of famine. A famine is declared when:
- 20 percent of households, equating to one in five individuals, face an extreme lack of food.
- 30 percent of children are suffering from acute malnutrition.
- Two adults or four children per every 10,000 individuals are dying daily due to malnutrition or starvation.
Current projections indicate that famine conditions are expected to persist in these camps, which collectively host between 400,000 and 600,000 people, at least until the end of October. This declaration marks the first official famine in Africa since the crisis in South Sudan in 2020. While there were projections of famine in Somalia in 2022 and in Gaza this year, those situations did not meet the criteria for an official declaration.
Sudan’s Darfur region has been a hotspot of severe conflict and atrocities since the civil war erupted between the national army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces on April 15 of the previous year. The humanitarian situation in El Fasher has markedly worsened since April of this year, as the paramilitary group has laid siege to the city and intensified assaults on surrounding villages. This escalating conflict has trapped countless civilians, devastated healthcare facilities, and left communities bereft of essential food and water supplies.
Additionally, the fighting has wreaked havoc on agricultural land, severely restricting food availability in local markets and obstructing access to humanitarian aid. According to the World Food Program, Sudan is currently grappling with the most significant hunger crisis in the world, with over half of the nation’s 48 million population facing crisis levels of hunger. Furthermore, Sudan is experiencing the worst displacement crisis globally, with more than 10 million individuals either internally displaced or forced to flee to neighboring countries.
