The World Food Programme's Executive Director, Luke Lindberg, has warned that funding cuts are worsening Sudan's hunger crisis at the end of his first field mission to the country, and the UN agency says it urgently needs $520 million to keep feeding millions through April 2027, UN News reported on Thursday, November 12.
Source: UN News
Lindberg met families displaced by the conflict and struggling to feed their children, visited WFP teams on the ground and emergency feeding sites at displacement camps, and was photographed at the Goz El Salam camp in Kosti, according to the WFP statement carried by UNifeed and ReliefWeb. He also visited a WFP-led school meals site and held meetings with local, state and federal officials, thanking them for their partnership and urging them to end the conflict.
Source: WFP via ReliefWeb
“The fighting must end,” Lindberg said, in the WFP statement. “People facing acute hunger have three unfortunate choices: rebel, migrate or starve.” He stressed: “For many, WFP is their only hope in a time of unprecedented conflict.”
Source: WFP via UNifeed
Cuts bite after the August peak
In August, WFP was supporting more than four million people in Sudan, including 880,000 in areas at risk of famine, the agency said. In September, funding constraints forced it to begin cutting its caseload, and today it is reaching just over three million people — with an estimated 900,000 vulnerable people having lost their food assistance, UN News reported.
Source: UN News
Fighting and displacement remain the main drivers of hunger, the WFP statement said, while rising food and fuel prices make basic staples increasingly unaffordable. Insecurity, blocked roads and flood damage are further hampering aid deliveries as the conflict intensifies, UN News reported.
Source: WFP via ReliefWeb
A war since 2023, and the world's largest humanitarian crisis
Sudan is facing one of the world's largest humanitarian crises, UN News said. Since civil war erupted in 2023, millions have been displaced, hundreds of thousands have been killed and famine has become widespread, according to UN News. WFP describes Sudan as the world's largest humanitarian crisis, and Lindberg chose it as the destination of his first field mission after taking office in late October.
Source: UN News
“In the simplest of terms, peace opens the door to food while conflict opens the door to hunger,” Lindberg said. “With collective action and additional resources, we can turn this crisis around. WFP has teams on the ground and stands ready to scale our assistance.” The agency says the $520 million would provide lifesaving food and nutrition assistance to 5.4 million people through April 2027.
Source: WFP via UNifeed
Luke Lindberg took over as WFP Executive Director on October 26, promising “no more famines” as 266 million people faced acute hunger worldwide, and said Sudan would be his first field destination. This mission, concluding November 12, is that visit — and his message is that aid is being cut at the moment the need is growing.