from RAJI BASHIR in Khartoum, Sudan
Sudan Bureau
KHARTOUM, (CAJ News) – AFTER 1 000 days of war, Sudan’s hunger crisis is reaching unprecedented levels.
The country plunged into war on April 15, 2023, after a fallout between two rival factions of the country’s military government.
Islamic Relief has called for ceasefire. The charity is calling on international governments to revive political efforts to end the war.
“This war cannot be allowed to go on any longer,” said Elsadig Elnour, Islamic Relief’s senior programme manager in Sudan.
“For 1 000 days, we’ve seen our country ripped apart and civilians attacked, starved and forced from their land.”
The official lamented that parents were going without food to try and save their malnourished children. People are eating animal fodder and leaves to survive while community kitchens that have saved many lives were now shutting down due to lack of international support, pushing more families into starvation.
A new United Nations assessment in North Darfur shows more than half of young children are malnourished – one of the highest rates ever recorded worldwide.
More than 45 percent of people across Sudan – over 21 million people – are suffering acute food shortages.
A recent Islamic Relief assessment in Gedaref and Darfur found 83 percent of families lack enough food.
Elnour said many international governments had either forgotten or ignored the suffering or are actively fuelling and prolonging the war through weapons, finance and political support.
The official noted people urgently needed humanitarian aid but that was not a long-term solution.
“We need the international community to play a constructive role and use their diplomatic power to bring a ceasefire and lasting peace. Millions of lives and the future of Sudan is at stake.”
– CAJ News