UNICEF Germany has advocated for more support for starving children in Sudan. “The news of the expansion of the famine in Sudan is a terrible alarm call” said Christian Schneider, CEO of UNICEF Germany, on Wednesday.
“This horror is man-made, it is the terrifying consequence of the endless war in Sudan. The only good news is that we can rescue the children with additional nutrition and simple medical help” Schneider said. “But for that, we need secure humanitarian access and much more financial resources for the children who are suffering under this forgotten crisis.”
Over 700,000 starving children were already “day by day under this catastrophe” the CEO of UNICEF Germany explained. “What this means for each of these children, I saw myself recently in Sudan: Completely emaciated, apathetic small children, gaunt faces, and desperate parents who worry about the lives of their children.”
On Wednesday, the Famine Review Committee (FRC) and the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) published a report, stating that a famine is prevailing in at least five regions of Sudan. The local population and internally displaced people in the refugee camps of Zamzam, Abu Shouk, and Al Salam in North Darfur, as well as in the western Nuba Mountains, are affected, according to the report. Five more regions, including Um Kadadah, Melit, El Fasher, At Tawisha, and Al Lait in North Darfur, are expected to face a famine from December 2024 to May 2025.
At the same time, the report indicates a heightened risk that the hunger crisis will dramatically worsen in 17 more regions. In total, more than 24.6 million people in Sudan – over half the population – are suffering from acute food insecurity. Of these, 8.1 million people are in a crisis, and at least 638,000 people are in the gravest stage of food insecurity.