In the besieged area of Al Fasher in North Darfur, Famine (IPC Phase 5)1 isconfirmedto be currently ongoing in Zamzam camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) based on reasonable evidence2 that all threeFamine thresholdswere passed in June. It is possible Famine (IPC Phase 5) is also ongoing3 in nearby Abu Shouk and Al Salam IDP camps, though data is too limited to confirm or deny this classification. Famine (IPC Phase 5) is expected to continue through at least October and, in the absence of large-scale food assistance and an end to intense conflict, will possibly extend beyond October into the harvest and post-harvest period.
Other areas across Greater Darfur and South Kordofan with high concentrations of displaced persons, as well as in areas of West Darfur, Khartoum, and Al Fasher locality of North Darfur, face arisk of Famine (IPC Phase 5). If actions taken by armed parties – either through deliberate isolation or as a byproduct of escalating conflict and insecurity and humanitarian access denials – prevent households from migrating to safer areas in search of food and income for a sustained time, then hunger, acute malnutrition, and mortality would likely pass the Famine thresholds in these areas. FEWS NET will regularly re-assess the likelihood of Famine (IPC Phase 5) based on available evidence; however, given the severity of acute food insecurity in Sudan already, the fluidity of ground conditions, and challenges affecting data collection, humanitarian and government actors should not await confirmation of Famine (IPC Phase 5) in other areas to take further action to save lives.
Half of the localities in Sudan face Emergency (IPC Phase 4) outcomes from June to September, underscoring the scale and severity of the humanitarian crisis. At the peak of the lean season, humanitarian needs are expected to surpass 20 million people, over 45 percent of the population. While humanitarian access made important gains in June, the scope remains woefully inadequate due to conflict, insecurity, and bureaucratic and administrative barriers. An immediate and coordinated scale-up of multisectoral assistance is urgently required to mitigate further loss of life.
