OCHA urges Security Council action as famine conditions spread in Sudan

Briefing to the Security Council on the humanitarian situation in Sudan by Ms. Edem Wosornu, OCHA Director of Operations and Advocacy, on behalf of Mr. Tom Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator

New York, 6 January 2025

As delivered

Thank you, Mr. President,

Sudan remains in the grip of a humanitarian crisis of staggering proportions.

More than 11.5 million people are now estimated to be internally displaced, of whom nearly 8.8 million people have been uprooted since April 2023.

More than 3.2 million others have fled into neighbouring countries.

This year, humanitarian organizations aim to support close to 21 million people inside Sudan – this is close to half of the country’s population.

And today’s briefing follows the deeply worrying news that famine conditions are spreading.

Mr. President,

Armed conflict continues to severely impact civilians, including humanitarian workers, across the country, despite repeated calls for a cessation of hostilities.

This situation in and around El Fasher in North Darfur remains especially catastrophic.

December saw further escalation of the fighting, including in Zamzam displacement camp, with civilians killed and injured by artillery shelling and reports of those seeking to leave the camp being blocked from doing so.

Fighting has also continued in other parts of the country, including Khartoum, Aj Jazirah, Sennar, South Kordofan and West Kordofan.

On 19 December – the same day as our last Council briefing – three of our World Food Programme colleagues were killed by an air strike on their compound in Yabus, in Blue Nile State.

Mr. President, distinguished members of the Council,

Accessing areas of greatest need, including famine-affected locations, remains a fundamental challenge.

But we have seen some positive steps in recent weeks.

On 25 December, a convoy of 28 trucks arrived in Khartoum from Port Sudan with food, nutrition supplies and other assistance. This was the largest UN convoy to reach the capital since the beginning of the crisis and follows many weeks of negotiations. This is important progress, on which we must build with urgency.

Last week, a separate World Food Programme convoy was able to deliver food to Abu Jubeiha town and surrounding areas in South Kordofan.

But we are also seeing a further tightening of the space to operate in key areas.

The Adre crossing remains a crucial entry point – entry route – but inside Darfur additional restrictions are being imposed on the work of humanitarian organizations, and new inspection procedures for trucks intended for conflict-affected areas in North Darfur are creating new bottlenecks.

We continue to press the authorities on the implementation of their agreement to establish a humanitarian hub in Zalingei in Central Darfur, as a base for operating across the region.

Key areas in South Kordofan are effectively cut off from external assistance.

Visas for humanitarian personnel are not being granted swiftly enough.

Mr. President,

This morning’s briefing comes after the issuance of new analysis by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, or what we know as IPC.

The findings are shocking, but sadly not surprising.

A White Note shared with the Council last March highlighted the risk of millions of people slipping into catastrophic food insecurity.

In April, with key food security indicators rapidly deteriorating, the Sudan Humanitarian Country Team issued a Famine Prevention Plan, aimed at enabling an integrated, prioritized response, with delivery supported by a network of hubs and spokes.

In late July, the IPC’s Famine Review Committee confirmed famine conditions were feasible in Zamzam camp, with similar conditions likely in two nearby displacement camps, and many other areas at imminent risk.

With fighting having intensified and access to key hunger spots having tightened, a further spread of starvation and hunger was – tragically – the most likely scenario.

The latest IPC analysis indicates that famine conditions are now present in five areas, including Zamzam, Al Salam, Abu Shouk IDP camps, and in the western Nuba Mountains. It projects that five additional locations – all in North Darfur – will be affected between now and May, with risk of famine in 17 other areas.

Our colleagues from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations can speak to the details, but the main drivers are conflict and forced displacement.

This is a man-made crisis. 

It is also important to be clear that the impacts are not experienced evenly across the population, with extreme hunger posing disproportionate risks for women and girls, and for the very young and the elderly.

Mr. President, distinguished members of the Council,

Sudan is currently the only place in the world where famine has been confirmed.

Hunger and starvation are spreading because of the decisions being made each day to continue to prosecute this war, irrespective of the civilian cost.

Our three asks of the Security Council remain unchanged since last month, and since the White Note was shared with the Council 10 months ago:

First, we need your help to press the parties to comply with international humanitarian law. This includes the obligation to meet civilians’ essential needs, and to protect vital goods, infrastructure and services needed for food systems and food production. We call once more for an immediate cessation of hostilities and for real and inclusive steps towards the lasting peace that the people of Sudan so desperately need.

Second: access. We need your influence to ensure all routes – via road and air, across conflict lines and borders – are open for relief supplies and humanitarian personnel. Bureaucratic impediments must be lifted and permits and visas for incoming humanitarian personnel issued swiftly and efficiently. Humanitarian personnel and their assets must be protected.

Third: funding. The unprecedented scale of the needs in Sudan demands an unprecedented mobilization of international support.

The 2025 Sudan Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan will require a record US$4.2 billion to support close to 21 million people – again, half the population of Sudan.

A further $1.8 billion is needed to support 5 million people – primarily refugees – in seven neighbouring countries.

I thank you.