PHOTO
A man fills tanks with water for drinking uses, at the river Seteit in Gadaref state in eastern Sudan on April 24, 2024. The war in Sudan -- which experts have warned could last for years -- has pushed 18 million Sudanese into acute food insecurity, five million of whom are on the brink of famine. The international community pledged earlier this week more than two billion euros in aid to Sudan, only half of what the UN demanded, during a meeting in Paris. (Photo by AFP)
The United Nations warned on Friday that it had only received 12 percent of the $2.7 billion being sought for war-wracked Sudan, adding that "famine is closing in".
Tens of thousands of people have died and millions have been displaced in Sudan since war broke out in April 2023 between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
"It is a catastrophically underfunded appeal", Jens Laerke, spokesman for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) told reporters.
"Without more resources coming in fast, humanitarian organisations won't be able to scale up in time to stave off famine and prevent further deprivation", he said.
"In Sudan, half of the population, 25 million people, need humanitarian aid. Famine is closing in. Diseases are closing in. The fighting is closing in on civilians, especially in Darfur".
The United Nations has expressed growing concern in recent days over reports of heavy fighting in densely populated areas as the RSF seeks control of El-Fasher, the last major city in the western Darfur region not under its control.
"Now is the time for donors to make good on pledges made, step up and help us help Sudan and be part of changing the current trajectory that's leading toward the cliff's edge. Don't be missing in action."
