For the first time for almost two years of war, social cuisines in Sudan have been forced to refuse to provide food to people suffering from hunger after the freezing of American humanitarian aid that many depend on them.

‘People will die because of this decision’, She said anxiously a volunteer who works for a donation gathering and who is trying to find money to provide food to tens of thousands of people in Khartoum.

‘We have 40 kitchens across the country that offer food to 30,000 with 35,000 people everyday‘, He noted another Sudanese volunteer, stressing that all of these social cuisines were closed after the freezing of US aid, announced by President Donald Trump. ‘We pushed women and children’he explained.

Since April 2023, Sudan has been broken by a war between the regular army and the Paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (DIFI), which has cost the lives of tens of thousands of people and has expelled more than 12 million from their homes.

Due to the conflict many areas of Sudan have been immersed in the famine, while nearly 25 million people live in a state of acute food insecurity.

“The impact of the decision to suspend funding in such a violent way has a deadly impact”said Javid Abdelmomeim, head of the medical team of Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in Odurman, the neighboring town of Khartoum.

“It is a new disaster for Sudan’s population that is already suffering from the effects of violence, hunger, the collapse of the health system and the international humanitarian response,” added.

Trump announced that freezes international humanitarian aid provided by the US, allowing only a few exceptions for the help deemed vital.

Among the exceptions should be the Lum’s Prevention Program in Sudan, but the humanitarian organizations operating in the country already have forced to suspend their basic activities to provide food aid, accommodation and health services.

‘All formal communications have been interrupted’, He explained another Sudanese coordinator of humanitarian aid after USAID workers (the US International Development Service) were on holiday this week.

The MSF, one of the few organizations still active in Sudan, said it has received local organizations for immediate intervention.

“But the MSFs cannot fill the gap left behind by the US funding cessation”emphasized Abdelmeim.

The US was the largest donor donor in Sudan last year, contributing to 45% of the resources of the UN Intervention Plan.

On the verge of famine 8 million people

More than 8 million people in Sudan are on the verge of starvation, According to the UN Food Security Classification Framework (IPC).

Loss is already hit by five provinces of Sudan and is expected to extend to five others until May, before the next season of the rains further prevents the access of millions of people to food.

According to the IPC, 24.6 million people, about half of Sudan’s population, will face “increased levels of acute food insecurity” by May.

“The most devastating is that there were so many promises”he denounced a help coordinator who wanted to maintain his anonymity.

As the African Union announced yesterday, about 431,000 children were hospitalized in 2024 due to severe acute malnutrition, an increase of 44% compared to 2023.

According to the UN, the food crisis in Sudan is already much worse than the numbers show, as the lack of access to data makes it difficult for the authorities and organizations to form a comprehensive picture of the situation.