FAO highlights food emergency

The FAO on Wednesday named Sudan as one of three countries of particular concern among 17 countries facing exceptional food emergencies in Sub-Saharan Africa. In Sudan, it said, the recent escalation of fighting in the south had displaced a large number of people and “aggravated the already precarious situation due to drought”. The total number of internally displaced people either in camps or on the move as a result of a May/June offensive by the Sudan People’s Liberation Army in Bahr al-Ghazal has been estimated at up to 30,000. “All possible efforts should be made to arrest the deteriorating food situation in Sudan and Somalia,” said Abdur Rashid, the head of FAO’s Global Information and Early Warning System. Also highlighted as a serious worry was Zimbabwe, where drought, floods and land acquisition activities have caused chaos in the food sector.

The number of people in need of assistance in Sudan, currently estimated at three million, was set to increase, the FAO said, adding that the situation in Bahr al-Ghazal, where escalation of the Sudanese civil war in recent months was most pronounced, was “particularly grave”. Elsewhere, two consecutive poor harvests and the depletion of stocks had led to high cereal prices, reducing access to food for large section of the population, it said. “There is an urgent need for more food aid and support for logistics if starvation is to be avoided,” the FAO added.