In Sudan, a country ‘on the brink of collapse’ after 10 months of war, only 5% of its 48 million people are able to eat a full meal a day, Eddie Rowe, the director of the local branch of the World Food Program (PAM), announced today.

The war that began on April 15 between army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy, General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, the head of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (FSR), has resulted in thousands of people being killed and displaced. at least six million – in addition to the three million displaced in previous conflicts, according to the UN.

These population movements, combined with the fact that the growing season was interrupted or never started, but also with the burnt land left behind by the warring parties, lead to famine in the country, one of the poorest in the world. “It’s a deadly mix (…) that could plunge millions of people into humanitarian disaster,” Rowe warned, speaking to reporters in Brussels.

Throughout Sudan, 18 million people experience acute food insecurity and can barely be supported by humanitarian organizations, which face obstacles in their movements and, moreover, do not have sufficient funding. “About five million people are on the brink of destruction,” in the last stage before famine, Rowe said.

According to Michael Dunford, PAM’s regional director, it is impossible to gather data to confirm whether the country is already on the brink of famine. As much of the country is inaccessible, PAM can only care for 10% of the people in need. In December, when the war reached Al Jazeera State, south of Khartoum, the country lost its granary. “Thousands of small crops as well as large farms were abandoned,” Rowe said.