The food crisis in Sudan could be “the biggest ever”, World Food Program (WFP) executive director Cindy McCain warned on the sidelines of a conference on the country in Paris today.

The situation in Sudan is “almost catastrophic”, estimated the director of this UN organization, in an interview with the French Agency (AFP). “There is a famine, a huge famine” in the country, he said. “And even if we declare a state of famine, it will be too late,” he continued.

According to the UN, in the coming months, almost five million people could be plunged into “catastrophic food insecurity”, at the highest level of the scale of the food security index, IPC.

Sudan “could be the biggest food crisis ever”, McCain estimated, as the war in Sudan, which broke out a year ago, has killed thousands, displaced at least 8.5 million people, according to the UN and it also damaged the country’s already vulnerable infrastructure.

The humanitarian response planned for Sudan is, however, only 5% funded, according to French diplomacy.

“Gaza is the focus of all the attention, and that’s understandable. But we can’t forget countries like Sudan,” said WFP’s executive director, who “cannot feed people if governments and private companies are not ready to finance it”.

Cindy McCain also called on the warring parties in the conflict to allow aid workers access to Sudanese territory, which she said cannot reach “90% of the population”.

“When we start asking whether or not there is a famine, the truth is we don’t know because we can’t access it,” he insisted. “It is therefore very important for us to obtain safe and secure access,” to the beneficiaries.

An international humanitarian conference on Sudan and neighboring countries is being held in Paris today. With co-hosting countries France, Germany and the European Union, it aims to cover the funding gap in order to address the Sudanese crisis.