The ongoing conflicts in Sudan and the restrictions on humanitarian aid deliveries have resulted in famine conditions in at least one displaced persons camp in North Darfur, according to a report from a global authority on food security. The report, published on Thursday and supported by the United Nations (UN), reveals that residents in several areas of North Darfur, particularly the Zamzam camp, are living under extreme conditions of hunger, classified as IPC (Integrated Food Security Phase Classification) Phase 5.
IPC Phase 5 characterizes areas where at least one in five individuals or households suffers from severe food shortages and faces starvation and deprivation, potentially leading to critical levels of acute malnutrition and death. This is only the third time a famine has been officially declared since the system was established 20 years ago.
The report documents how hunger and disease have a deadly impact on Sudan, where over 15 months of conflict between the military and the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has caused the world’s largest internal displacement crisis, leaving 25 million people—or half of the population—in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.
The Famine Review Committee (FRC) confirmed that famine is currently ongoing in the Zamzam camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) and is likely to continue until October. Zamzam has a population of 500,000 and is located near el-Fasher, which is home to 1.8 million people and remains one of the last significant areas resisting the RSF in Darfur. The RSF has besieged the region, and no aid has reached the large camp for several months.
The FRC suggested that similar conditions could be affecting other areas in Darfur, including the refugee camps Abu Shouk and Al Salam.
On Thursday, Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders, known in French as MSF) criticized what it termed “repeated attacks on health facilities” in el-Fasher. The organization called on all parties to respect health facilities and the civilian population, as well as to facilitate the rapid delivery of food and medicine to the area.
MSF warned that children in the region are “on the brink of death” due to restrictions on food and medical supplies. News agency Reuters reported that some Sudanese have been forced to eat leaves and dirt, and satellite images show how burial sites are rapidly expanding as hunger and disease spread.
A Reuters analysis of satellite images identified 14 burial sites in Darfur that have rapidly increased in recent months. One cemetery in Zamzam grew 50 percent faster between March 28 and May 3 compared to the previous three and a half months. This analysis has been used by the FRC as indirect evidence of rising mortality rates.