WFP warns Sudan war risks mass starvation; says $650 million shortfall imperils aid

Sean Hugh Hughes, World Food Programme regional emergency coordinator, told reporters that the second year of the war in Sudan has produced “the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.” He said millions are displaced, large parts of Darfur are under siege and humanitarian access and funding are urgently needed.

Hughes said the WFP aims to assist 7 million people over the next six months but currently faces an 80% funding gap, “amounting to $650,000,000,” plus a further $150,000,000 for people fleeing across borders to neighboring countries. “Tens of thousands more people will die in Sudan during a third year of war unless WFP and other humanitarian agencies have the access and the resources to reach those in need,” he said.

Why it matters: Hughes described a combination of large-scale displacement, active sieges and blocked humanitarian access that, he said, makes the crisis man-made rather than a…