The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) warns about a looming food crisis in Sudan driven by the combined impacts of armed conflict, low production of key staple crops and economic turmoil. A multi-partner Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis, issued a conducted between March and April 2022, involving 19 agencies, including several government departments, specialized UN agencies, and local and international non-government organisations, indicates a significant deepening in Sudan’s food crisis. A record 11.7 million people, almost a quarter of the country's population, are projected to be facing acute hunger at the height of the lean season in September— an increase by nearly 2 million people compared with the same period last year.

Western, Northern, and Central Darfur, Khartoum, Kassala and the White Nile States — hardest hit by conflict and economic decline— host the highest caseload of Crisis (IPC Phase 3) and Emergency (IPC Phase 4) levels of food insecurity during the projection period from June to September 2022.

“These troubling numbers are the clearest indication of the deteriorating food security conditions in the country,’’ said Babagana Ahmadu, FAO Representative to Sudan.