NEWS & POLITICS
Sudan hunger crisis worsens as UN warns women face rising food insecurity amid prolonged conflict
The United Nations has warned that women in Sudan are facing rapidly worsening food shortages, underscoring the gendered toll of the country’s protracted humanitarian crisis.
Noluthando Buthelezi
GENEVA, Switzerland | January 13 (Running Africa) — According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), female-headed households in Sudan are up to three times more likely to fall into food insecurity than the national average, reflecting deep-rooted inequalities exacerbated by conflict.
Speaking to reporters in Geneva, UN spokesperson Jens Laerke said the hunger crisis is disproportionately affecting women, noting that long-standing social and economic disparities have been sharply intensified by ongoing fighting.
The World Food Programme delivers emergency food assistance to newly arrived Sudanese refugees in eastern Chad. Image:
Now in its 18th month, the conflict has prompted UN agencies to call for urgent international intervention, particularly to support Darfur, seized by the Rapid Support Forces, and Kadugli, another besieged town. Both locations are facing famine-like conditions, aid officials say.
OCHA estimates that at least 21 million people across Sudan are acutely food insecure, while some 34 million—including millions of children—require humanitarian assistance.
In the vicinity of Koungoussi, Burkina Faso, a child is pictured eating porridge made with fortified flour. Photo: Reuters, Omar Bandaogo.
The agency also confirmed that Sudan is set to become the first country to formally agree to receive $2 billion in aid from the United States, following a pledge made in late December. However, OCHA said it has yet to provide an update on further plans to visit al-Fashir, after an initial assessment by international aid workers, highlighting ongoing access and security challenges.
As fighting persists and humanitarian needs soar, UN officials warn that without swift, coordinated global action, Sudan’s food crisis—particularly for women and children—will continue to deteriorate.
