Sudan refugees face deepening hunger as funds dry up: UN - War in Sudan
Since April 2023, war between the Sudanese army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has created the world's largest displacement crisis, with more than 10 million people displaced inside the country.
Another four million have fled across borders, mainly to Chad, Egypt and South Sudan.
"This is a full-blown regional crisis that's playing out in countries that already have extreme levels of food insecurity and high levels of conflict," said Shaun Hughes, WFP's emergency coordinator for the Sudan regional crisis.
The United Nations says its humanitarian response plan for Sudan -- also the world's largest hunger crisis -- is only 14.4 per cent funded.
A UN conference in Spain this week aims to rally international donors, following deep funding shortfalls that have affected relief operations globally.
The WFP warned that support to Sudanese refugees in Egypt, Ethiopia, Libya and the Central African Republic "may grind to a halt in the coming months as resources run dry".
In Egypt, which hosts around 1.5 million people who fled Sudan, food aid for 85,000 refugees -- 36 per cent of those previously supported -- had already been cut.
Without new funding, the WFP warned, all assistance to the most vulnerable refugees would be suspended by August.
In Chad, where more than 850,000 people have fled but find little help in overwhelmed camps, the WFP said food rations would be reduced even further.
Around 1,000 refugees continue to arrive in Chad each day from Sudan's western Darfur region, where famine has already been declared and displacement camps regularly come under attack.
"Refugees from Sudan are fleeing for their lives and yet are being met with more hunger, despair, and limited resources on the other side of the border," said Hughes.
"Food assistance is a lifeline for vulnerable refugee families with nowhere else to turn."
Inside Sudan, more than eight million people are estimated to be on the brink of famine, with nearly 25 million suffering dire food insecurity.
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See - Sada Elbalad
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Refugees Escaping Sudan Face Escalating Hunger, Malnutrition as Food Aid Risks Major Reductions
Ahmed Emam The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today warned that millions of Sudanese refugees who have fled to neighbouring countries risk plunging deeper into hunger and malnutrition as critical funding shortages force drastic cuts to life saving food assistance. Since conflict erupted in Sudan in April 2023, more than 4 million people have fled to neighbouring countries in search of food, shelter and safety – with families often arriving traumatised, malnourished, and with little more than the clothes on their backs. WFP quickly mobilized to provide emergency assistance to refugees escaping to seven neighbouring countries. Food and cash, hot meals, and nutrition support have been provided in the Central African Republic (CAR), Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, Libya, South Sudan, and Uganda. The agency also expanded support to host communities who have generously welcomed refugees, despite often grappling with their own food insecurity needs. However, continued food assistance is quickly exceeding available funding. WFP's support to Sudanese refugees in CAR, Egypt, Ethiopia and Libya may grind to a halt in the coming months as resources run dry. In Uganda, many vulnerable refugees are surviving on less than 500 calories a day – less than a quarter of daily nutritional needs - as new arrivals push refugee support systems to the breaking point. And in Chad, which hosts almost a quarter of the four million refugees who fled Sudan, food rations will be reduced in the coming months unless new contributions are received soon. 'This is a full-blown regional crisis that's playing out in countries that already have extreme levels of food insecurity and high levels of conflict,' said Shaun Hughes, WFP's Emergency Coordinator for the Sudan Regional Crisis. 'Millions of people who have fled Sudan depend wholly on support from WFP, but without additional funding we will be forced to make further cuts to food assistance. This will leave vulnerable families, and particularly children, at increasingly severe risk of hunger and malnutrition.' Children are particularly vulnerable to sustained periods of food insecurity. Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM) rates among refugee children in reception centres in Uganda and South Sudan have already breached emergency thresholds as refugees are severely malnourished even before arriving in bordering countries to receive emergency assistance. Inside Sudan, WFP has worked to scale up assistance to reach over 4 million people per month – four times more than at the beginning of 2024. Vital support to new refugees in neighbouring countries was also expanded; in Chad, WFP quadrupled warehouse capacity and expanded food pipelines to support the influx of refugees crossing from Darfur and to sustain cross-border operations into Sudan. In Egypt and South Sudan, WFP scaled up cash assistance after the civil conflict began in 2023, enrolling eligible Sudanese families within hours of arrival to provide immediate support. 'Refugees from Sudan are fleeing for their lives and yet are being met with more hunger, despair, and limited resources on the other side of the border,' said Hughes. 'Food assistance is a lifeline for vulnerable refugee families with nowhere else to turn.' WFP is urging the international community to mobilise additional resources to sustain food and nutrition assistance for Sudan's refugees and the host communities supporting them. WFP needs just over US$200 million to sustain its emergency response for Sudanese refugees in neighbouring countries for the next 6 months. An additional $575 million is needed for life-saving operations for the most vulnerable inside Sudan. 'Ultimately, humanitarian support alone will not put an end to conflict and forced displacement –political and global diplomatic action is what's urgently needed to end the fighting so that peace and stability can return,' said Hughes read more Gold prices rise, 21 Karat at EGP 3685 NATO's Role in Israeli-Palestinian Conflict US Expresses 'Strong Opposition' to New Turkish Military Operation in Syria Shoukry Meets Director-General of FAO Lavrov: confrontation bet. nuclear powers must be avoided News Iran Summons French Ambassador over Foreign Minister Remarks News Aboul Gheit Condemns Israeli Escalation in West Bank News Greek PM: Athens Plays Key Role in Improving Energy Security in Region News One Person Injured in Explosion at Ukrainian Embassy in Madrid News China Launches Largest Ever Aircraft Carrier Sports Former Al Zamalek Player Ibrahim Shika Passes away after Long Battle with Cancer Videos & Features Tragedy Overshadows MC Alger Championship Celebration: One Fan Dead, 11 Injured After Stadium Fall Lifestyle Get to Know 2025 Eid Al Adha Prayer Times in Egypt Business Fear & Greed Index Plummets to Lowest Level Ever Recorded amid Global Trade War News Flights suspended at Port Sudan Airport after Drone Attacks Videos & Features Video: Trending Lifestyle TikToker Valeria Márquez Shot Dead during Live Stream News Shell Unveils Cost-Cutting, LNG Growth Plan Technology 50-Year Soviet Spacecraft 'Kosmos 482' Crashes into Indian Ocean Arts & Culture "6 Ayam" Sets Streaming Date
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Sudan refugees face deepening hunger as funds dry up: UN - War in Sudan
Millions of people displaced by the war in Sudan are at risk of falling deeper into crisis as funding for food aid dwindles, the UN's World Food Programme warned Monday. Since April 2023, war between the Sudanese army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has created the world's largest displacement crisis, with more than 10 million people displaced inside the country. Another four million have fled across borders, mainly to Chad, Egypt and South Sudan. "This is a full-blown regional crisis that's playing out in countries that already have extreme levels of food insecurity and high levels of conflict," said Shaun Hughes, WFP's emergency coordinator for the Sudan regional crisis. The United Nations says its humanitarian response plan for Sudan -- also the world's largest hunger crisis -- is only 14.4 per cent funded. A UN conference in Spain this week aims to rally international donors, following deep funding shortfalls that have affected relief operations globally. The WFP warned that support to Sudanese refugees in Egypt, Ethiopia, Libya and the Central African Republic "may grind to a halt in the coming months as resources run dry". In Egypt, which hosts around 1.5 million people who fled Sudan, food aid for 85,000 refugees -- 36 per cent of those previously supported -- had already been cut. Without new funding, the WFP warned, all assistance to the most vulnerable refugees would be suspended by August. In Chad, where more than 850,000 people have fled but find little help in overwhelmed camps, the WFP said food rations would be reduced even further. Around 1,000 refugees continue to arrive in Chad each day from Sudan's western Darfur region, where famine has already been declared and displacement camps regularly come under attack. "Refugees from Sudan are fleeing for their lives and yet are being met with more hunger, despair, and limited resources on the other side of the border," said Hughes. "Food assistance is a lifeline for vulnerable refugee families with nowhere else to turn." Inside Sudan, more than eight million people are estimated to be on the brink of famine, with nearly 25 million suffering dire food insecurity. Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
Egypt Independent
17-06-2025
- Egypt Independent
‘Like the world has forgotten us:' As Iran-Israel conflict escalates, Gazans fear their suffering will become invisible
CNN — The young girl sits on the dusty floor, clutching her father's shoe close to her chest as she cries and screams in anger. Bisan Qwaider is unconsolable. Her father has just been killed while trying to get food for her and her 10 hungry siblings. Khaled Sha'ath, the photojournalist who captured the scene of Qwaider's grief on Sunday, told CNN that Bisan's father, Shadi, had left the family's tent in Mawassi, in southern Gaza, a few days earlier for Ma'an, just east of Khan Younis. Shadi knew travel to the area was dangerous: Ma'an had been under an Israeli evacuation order for some time and has come under Israeli bombardment. But, despite the risk, his children were hungry and he believed he could get some food there for them. Gaza is facing a hunger crisis. A UN-backed report published in late April warned that one in five people in Gaza were facing starvation and that the entire enclave was edging closer to famine. The situation has only worsened since then, according to the UN. Sha'ath said Qwaider was killed in an airstrike and his body was pulled from the rubble on Sunday. He is one of hundreds of people who have died while attempting to find food in Gaza in recent weeks, according to Gaza health authorities. CNN has asked the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) about the situation in Ma'an. The IDF responded by sending CNN a map of Gaza with 'dangerous combat zones' highlighted in red, which included Ma'an – as well as more than half of the territory. In late May, Israel partially lifted an 11-week total blockade on Gaza, but humanitarian organizations say the aid entering now is only a tiny fraction of what is needed. 'Without immediate and massively scaled-up access to the basic means of survival, we risk a descent into famine, further chaos, and the loss of more lives,' the UN's humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said last week. The humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza has sparked outrage around the world, recently prompting even some of Israel's closest allies to speak up. France, the United Kingdom and Canada issued a rare statement last month criticizing Israel and threatening 'concrete steps' if the situation in Gaza does not improve. The UK paused trade negotiations with Israel and sanctioned West Bank settlers last month, and the European Union said it would review a key cooperation agreement with Israel. Palestinians carry boxes and bags containing food and humanitarian aid packages delivered by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation earlier this month. Abdel Kareem Hana/AP But as tensions continue to escalate between Israel and Iran, people in Gaza are now worried that even the limited pressure on Israel over their suffering will quickly evaporate. 'The war between Israel and Iran made people forget about us completely. No one is looking at us, there's no food or water or anything. Every day, people go to try to get food and aid, and they end up being carried in body bags,' Mohammad, a Gazan who did not want to share his last name, told CNN on Monday. Umm Mustafa, another Gazan, told CNN the growing conflict between Iran and Israel means that their suffering has disappeared from the international news agenda. 'All the (focus) has shifted to the Israeli-Iranian war, even though the Gaza Strip has been wiped off of the map,' Mustafa said. Abu Juma'a, who lives in Gaza City, told CNN that while there were 'some voices calling and standing in solidarity with Gaza and calling for humanitarian aid to be let in, the Israeli-Iranian war meant there is no one calling for the food and water to be provided in Gaza.' Palestinian women at a food distribution kitchen in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, on May 30, 2025. Abdel Kareem Hana/AP One in 40 dead More than 55,300 people have been killed and more than 128,700 injured in Gaza since October 7, 2023, according to health authorities there. The numbers are staggering: The death toll represents some 2.5% of the entire Gaza population, meaning that out of every 40 Palestinians living in Gaza before the war, one is now dead. A peer-reviewed study published earlier this year in The Lancet journal, said that the number of people killed in Gaza is significantly higher than the figure reported by authorities in the enclave. CNN cannot independently verify those claims and Israel has barred international journalists from traveling to Gaza independently since October 7. And the deadly hunger crisis is worsening. The International Committee of the Red Cross said on Monday that people are struggling to access basic goods because of Israeli restrictions on what can be brought into the territory. Meanwhile, a US and Israeli-backed aid initiative, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) – a controversial organization that was established amid Israeli accusations that Hamas is stealing aid in Gaza and profiting off its sale – is struggling to fulfill the task. The organization has been criticized by multiple international aid agencies that it isn't fit for purpose. According to Gaza health authorities, at least 300 people have been killed since the GHF opened its distribution points in late May, which are located in areas surrounded by active combat zones. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said last week that Israeli authorities have allowed only a select number of UN agencies and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to resume the delivery of aid into Gaza after partially lifting the blockade and that 'only very limited amounts of certain food items, nutrition supplies, some health supplies, and water purification items' are allowed. Other aid supplies, such as shelter materials, hygiene products and medical equipment are still being blocked by Israel, according to OCHA. 'People can't find anything to eat or drink. The price of a bag of flour is now 300 to 500 times more expensive than before … it does feel like the world has forgotten us,' another Gaza resident, Abu Mohammed, told CNN. For young Bisan Qwaider, the only thing from her father she could get a hold of was his shoe. As she screamed for her father, she looked to the sky and shouted a message for those she believed were responsible for his death. 'May God hold you accountable,' she said.
