A grim specter of starvation now stalks millions of Sudanese both within the country and abroad, at a time when the United Nations acknowledges the urgent need to increase humanitarian aid in the country, according to a statement released on the official Facebook page of the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS).
United Nations agencies in Sudan declared during a meeting held on Wednesday in the coastal city of Port Sudan that they are collaboratively working to expand the range of humanitarian assistance to more than 3 million internally displaced persons, primarily women and children, who have been uprooted due to the ongoing conflict.
In the United Nations report released mid-July, it was stated that half of Sudan’s population is in dire need of urgent humanitarian assistance. This is particularly true for the millions stranded in the conflict zones in Khartoum, Darfur, and Kordofan.
The continuing clashes between the army and the Rapid Support Forces are impeding the delivery of humanitarian aid to civilians, who continue to suffer from the loss of essential services such as electricity, water, and healthcare. This is a result of the cessation of more than half of the country’s hospitals and service facilities, deepening the crisis faced by the besieged populace.