Many people in conflict-torn Sudan, Burkina Faso, Mali and South Sudan could experience starvation or death over the coming months, including in 2024, the United Nations has warned.
“In the Sudan, the devastating impacts of the conflict on livelihoods, the agriculture sector and the economy at large amid the internal displacement of 4.4 million people between April and
October 2023 will drive high levels of acute food insecurity,” the UN said in a report.
“By September 2023, around 20.3 million people were assessed to face crisis or levels of acute food insecurity, including more than 6.3 million people.”
“In South Sudan, critical levels of food insecurity are expected to persist across the country even after the start of harvests in October due to insufficient crop production, high staple food prices and a lack of resources to support the rising numbers of returnees from the Sudan,” the UN added.
The conflict in the Sudan, which erupted in April, had uprooted almost 5.6 million people by mid-September, including many who fled to neighbouring countries, according to the UN.
The global body said in its report that “people crossing borders often arrive in remote areas where dire conditions prevail and humanitarian assistance is constrained”, including in Chad and the Central African Republic.
