Khaberni - The United Nations' World Food Program said on Friday that it will reduce, starting next month, the food rations provided to areas facing famine in Sudan, due to lack of funding.
The war, which erupted in 2023 between the Sudanese Army and the Rapid Support Forces, has been described by the United Nations as the worst humanitarian crisis in the world.
Areas in the Darfur region face famine and malnutrition after an 18-month blockade imposed by the Rapid Support Forces on Al Fasher city.
Ross Smith, director of the Emergency Preparedness and Response department at the program, told journalists in Geneva via video call from Rome, "Starting January, we will have to reduce food rations by 70% in famine-stricken areas, and by 50% in areas at risk of famine... By April, we will reach a very critical stage regarding funding."
The United Nations estimates that more than 100,000 people have fled from Al Fasher since the Rapid Support Forces took control of it in late October, and about 15,000 of them have reached Taweela, a small neighboring town under the control of neutral forces.
The United Nations says that about 650,000 people are currently residing in Taweela after hundreds of thousands fled there from the Zamzam camp in April during previous rounds of fighting.
Although the Food Program provides food for the residents of the Taweela area, it needs $700 million to continue providing its aid over the next six months throughout Sudan.
The program has raised concerns that the humanitarian response is not keeping pace with the growing needs on the ground in the Taweela area due to logistical challenges that include obtaining the necessary approvals for movement, as well as lack of funding.
Smith said: "These are families that have been suffering from famine for months and have faced mass atrocities, and now live in crowded places and receive only very limited support," noting the lack of available health services and the displaced living in fragile shelters made of straw.
