WFP urges international community to step up support as famine looms in Sudan

The World Food Program (WFP) on Tuesday called on the international community to urgently boost support for Sudan, where a civil war continues since 2023, warning that famine is looming in several areas and basic humanitarian operations are on the brink due to severe funding shortfalls.

Speaking at a UN press briefing in Geneva, Laurent Bukera, WFP's Sudan representative and country director, said "this is the moment to stand with the Sudanese people as they rebuild their lives, communities, and hope after two years of devastating conflict."

Bukera, who recently returned from Khartoum, said the WFP has opened a new office in Omdurman to re-establish its presence near affected communities.

"The needs are immense," he said, describing widespread destruction, a cholera outbreak, and areas that now resemble a "ghost city."

Over the past six months, the WFP has reached nearly 1 million people in Khartoum with food and nutrition aid, he said. However, Bukera warned that "several areas in the south of the city are at high risk of famine," and the momentum must be maintained.

Across Sudan, according to the country director, the WFP now reaches 4 million people monthly -- nearly four times more than at the beginning of 2024 -- with an aim to reach 7 million -- as access has expanded.

Still, operations are being severely constrained, he said.

"Oil and pulses have been removed from the food basket due to a lack of resources," Bukera said, adding that over $500 million is urgently needed over the next six months for emergency food and cash assistance.

He also condemned escalating attacks on humanitarian personnel, including a deadly strike last week on a WFP-UNICEF convoy near El Fasher.

"These attacks must stop immediately," he said. "Above all, the only solution is peace."