December 24, 2024 – Earlier today, the IPC Famine Review Committee (FRC) announced that famine has been detected “in at least five areas of Sudan, and projects that five additional areas will face Famine between December 2024 and May 2025.”
According to the FRC, “Famine (IPC Phase 5), detected in August in Zamzam camp, North Darfur, has persisted and expanded to Abu Shouk and Al Salam camps and the Western Nuba Mountains.” Additionally, the report states that between December 2024 and May 2025, famine (with reasonable evidence) is projected to persist in these areas and further expand into North Darfur localities including Um Kadadah, Melit, Al Fasher, At Tawisha, and Al Leit.
Further, there is a risk of famine in seventeen additional areas, with half of the population (24.6 million people) facing high levels of acute food insecurity – marking an unprecedented deepening and widening of the food and nutrition crisis, driven by the devastating conflict and poor humanitarian access.
The people of Sudan have endured nearly 20 months of violence, fear, and famine, with no end in sight. The country remains both the world’s largest displacement crisis, the largest hunger crisis on earth, and home to a war on women and girls.
“These numbers are heart-wrenching and speak to the unimaginable tragedy unfolding in Sudan. The true picture is likely even worse. Spiraling violence has not only cut off lifesaving aid but also made it nearly impossible to gather accurate data on the scale of hunger to understand the full scale of this catastrophe. People are dying from hunger and malnutrition, and it’s happening out of sight, with indifference, and often without the world paying attention,” said Deepmala Mahla, CARE’s Chief Humanitarian Officer
Mahla added: “We hear firsthand of the ravages of hunger from our CARE colleagues and partners working in Darfur, in Kassala, in Khartoum, in El Gedaref, in North Kordofan and in eastern Chad. Women tell us how, when food is scarce, they eat last and least, sacrificing their own health for their families. When I visited Sudan earlier this year, I heard painful testimonies from women about their struggles – the hunger, the fear, the violence, and the impossible choices they face every single day. These are not just numbers or headlines – they are lives hanging by a thread.”
Women and girls – who make up the majority of the forcibly displaced within and outside of Sudan –bear the brunt of the widespread hunger in Sudan. Because of malnutrition many pregnant women face terrible complications; while lactating women can’t produce enough breast milk for their newborns. Moreover, the persistent fighting and mass displacement and gender-based violence, including conflict-related sexual violence, leaves them and their families and communities unable to get food.
Speaking of the global humanitarian response and the most immediate needs, Abdirahman Ali, CARE Sudan’s Country Director, said: “It must include age- and gender-responsive malnutrition treatment, cash assistance, food, livelihood support, as well as healthcare – including sexual and reproductive health, and gender-based violence services. We also call on the international community to move urgently to fully fund the Humanitarian Response Plan for Sudan.”
Ending this devastating crisis requires political will and collective action to stop the conflict and address this acute human suffering, yet continuous warnings from the humanitarian community since April 2023 – to put an end to the fighting, to deliver aid unimpeded, and to protect civilians – have remained unheeded.
“The UN Security Council must act decisively to uphold its responsibility to ensure international peace and security. The people of Sudan cannot wait any longer. An urgent resolution is needed to protect civilians, secure humanitarian access, and address the escalating food insecurity. Every day of delay sends a dangerous signal to those perpetuating this violence – that impunity is tolerated, and suffering can continue unchecked,” noted Deepmala Mahla.
Note to Editors:
• In April, CARE and their partners published a report capturing how the violence in Sudan amounts to a war on women and girls: Because We Are Women.
• CARE has been operating in Sudan since 1979, implementing humanitarian and development programs focused on women’s and girls’ empowerment, gender justice, humanitarian action, and resilience.
• CARE’s current operations in Sudan include:
◦ East Darfur – Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH); health services, cash and livelihoods
◦ Gedaref – WASH; health services, cash , livelihoods
◦ Kassala – cash assistance, health and nutrition
◦ Al Gezira – WASH and cash assistance
◦ South Kordofan – Supporting women’s empowerment through economic and livelihoods activities, cash and livelihoods
◦ South Darfur – WASH; livelihoods; community empowerment
◦ Khartoum – Cash assistance, health, nutrition and WASH services
• CARE supports over 83 health facilities in six states in Sudan, providing life-saving health and nutrition services.
• In eastern Chad, CARE currently provides the following services and support: health, WASH, food security, shelter, nutrition, sexual and reproductive health, cash assistance, protection, and gender-violence based support.
For media inquiries, email usa.media@care.org