Port Sudan — Sudan's war has claimed thousands of lives, forced millions from their homes, and sparked economic turmoil across the region that is deepening the hunger crisis, warns the United Nations World Food Programme as the conflict approaches its one-year mark. In Sudan, areas of agricultural land have turned into battlegrounds, while farms and businesses stand abandoned as people have fled for safety.
"Millions of people in Sudan, South Sudan and Chad are being threatened by starvation because this war has laid waste to agriculture, businesses and national economies - leaving its victims hungry and penniless," said WFP's Executive Director Cindy McCain."The fighting must stop now, or the region may soon become the world's largest hunger crisis."
Sudan will be unable to finance the import of sufficient food stocks to cover the shortfall. Last year alone, the price of staple grains doubled and is expected to rise further because of the latest poor harvest.
This economic turmoil risks pushing one million people into severe food insecurity in South Sudan, where already over half the population - 7.1 million people - are acutely hungry, new modelling from WFP shows. Food prices have more than doubled in some areas and around four in five households in South Sudan may be unable to afford food essentials.