Western governments warned of deteriorating food security and famine risks in Sudan

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The United States and other Western governments warned Monday of an “alarming deterioration” in Sudan’s food security and urged the warring parties to remove obstacles to humanitarian aid to prevent famine. A joint statement published by the U.S. State Department said an estimated 19.5 million people, 41% of Sudan’s population, face high levels of acute food insecurity, including five million at emergency levels. It identified the conflict, which began in April 2023, as the main driver of hunger, and cited systematic obstruction of aid and the effects of El Niño, which has reduced rainfall and increased drought across more than half the country. The statement warned that severe acute malnutrition among children could exceed a projected 825,000 and that food-insecure areas, initially estimated at 14, are expected to double. It called for full, safe, rapid and unimpeded humanitarian access.