War in Sudan leaves 13 million people displaced and more than half the population malnourished

At Al-Shuhada hospital, north of Khartoum, dozens of people wait for a consultation on 27 October 2024 in El Droshab, near Khartum, Sudan.

The ongoing war in Sudan, which started 20 months ago, has created one of the world’s most severe humanitarian crises, according to the United Nations. Over 13 million people have been displaced by the conflict, and more than half of Sudan’s 45 million population is experiencing acute malnutrition, with eight million in critical condition.

Beyond the violence, hunger stands as another devastating consequence of the conflict in Sudan, which is currently experiencing the world's most severe humanitarian crisis.

Both armies are accused of using hunger as a weapon of war and hampering the passage of humanitarian aid. The country remains largely underfunded and the crisis in Sudan has been largely forgotten.

According to RFI's reporter in Sudan, Al-Shuhada hospital in Bahri in the northern suburb of Khartoum has just been retaken from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces by the regular army .

Just a few hundred metres from the front lines, a different battle unfolds - a fight against malnutrition and hunger, which have now claimed more lives than the war itself.

UN mission calls for peacekeeping force in Sudan, suspects war crimes

Hospitals in dire state

In front of the doors of a nutrition service, Selwa Zakaria is waiting for medical staff.

“My two daughters died of hunger," she told RFI. "The first four months ago - she was 12 years old. The second - a year-and-a-half-year old - died a week ago. We have nothing to eat.”


Read more on RFI English

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