Noting the famine conditions in Sudan, a senior humanitarian official briefed the Security Council today, emphasizing the urgent need to stop hostilities immediately.

Hunger and starvation in Sudan are spreading due to decisions to continue the conflict, regardless of the impact on civilians, United Nations aid officials informed the Security Council today. They urged members to advocate for a ceasefire and to remove restrictions hindering humanitarian efforts.

“This is a man-made crisis,” stressed Edem Wosornu, Director of Operations and Advocacy Division at the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, during her briefing to the 15-member body.

The latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) findings are “shocking, but sadly, not surprising,” she noted. Analysis indicates famine conditions in five areas, including the Zamzam, Al Salam, and Abu Shouk camps for internally displaced persons, as well as the Western Nuba Mountains. The projection is that five more locations, all in North Darfur, will be affected by May, with 17 other areas at risk of famine.

More than 11.5 million people have been internally displaced in Sudan since the fighting began in 2023, with over 3.2 million fleeing to neighboring countries. Humanitarian workers are risking their lives to perform their duties. Last month, three World Food Programme (WFP) workers were killed by an airstrike on their compound in Yabus, Blue Nile State.

Despite the increasing danger, some progress has been made. On December 25, 2024, a convoy of 28 trucks arrived in Khartoum with food, nutrition supplies, and other aid—the largest UN convoy to reach the capital since the crisis began, following weeks of negotiations.

However, additional restrictions are being imposed on humanitarian organizations in some areas of Darfur. New inspection procedures for trucks are causing further delays, and visas for humanitarian personnel are not being issued quickly enough.

“We need your help to press the parties to comply with international humanitarian law,” Wosornu urged, calling for an immediate halt to hostilities and for “real and inclusive” steps towards lasting peace that the people of Sudan “desperately need.”

All routes via roads and air across conflict lines and borders must be open for relief supplies and humanitarian personnel. Funds are critically needed as well. The 2025 Sudan Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan requires a record $4.2 billion to support nearly 21 million people. An additional $1.8 billion is needed to support 5 million people in seven neighboring countries.

Beth Bechdol, Deputy Director-General of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), also briefed the Council. She recalled that in August 2024, famine was classified in Zamzam camp in North Darfur. “It persists and has expanded,” she warned, noting that famine conditions have spread to other sites in North Darfur and the Western Nuba Mountains.

“The risk of famine and its spread has been on our collective conscience since August, and now it is here,” Bechdol said, highlighting not only deaths from hunger but also the breakdown of health systems, livelihoods, and social structures.

Ongoing violence and economic turmoil have disrupted markets and driven staple goods prices to unaffordable levels. Nearly two-thirds of the Sudanese population depends on agriculture, and the loss of vital crops such as sorghum, millet, and wheat represents an economic hit estimated in the billions of dollars.

“We need your political leverage to end hostilities and bring relief to the people of Sudan,” she added, stressing that in 2025, FAO plans to reach over 14 million people with seeds, livestock feed, and fishing supplies to produce their own nutritious food.

In the following discussion, Council members stressed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Sudan and urged conflicting parties to respect international humanitarian law and remove obstacles preventing humanitarian organizations from doing their life-saving work.

Many members recalled a time when Sudan was an agriculturally rich country. Guyana’s delegate, speaking also for Slovenia, the Council’s informal co-focal points on conflict and hunger, expressed alarm that the displacement of farming communities and attacks on agricultural sites had “turned a once-thriving country—the breadbasket of its region—into the world’s largest hunger crisis.”

“Even during the harvest season, when food should be abundant, millions are starving” in Sudan, Slovenia’s delegate added. The numbers and statistics detailing hunger and famine “reveal the harsh reality of a starving child, a new mother unable to nourish her newborn, older persons and people with disabilities left without essential services,” he noted. The Council must call on the conflicting parties to lift bureaucratic impediments and excessive paperwork hindering aid efforts.

“It is within the power of the warring parties to prevent a further deepening of this man-made crisis,” emphasized the United Kingdom’s representative. Welcoming the Sudanese Armed Forces’ agreement to establish humanitarian supply hubs and extend permissions for the Adre crossing, he called for more humanitarian hubs to be authorized, including in areas held by the Rapid Support Forces. Greece’s delegate also stressed that “safe and sustained access to famine-stricken areas must be guaranteed,” calling for the immediate removal of administrative and security barriers hindering aid operations. Emphasizing the Council’s responsibility to act, Denmark’s representative stated: “We cannot sit idly by as civilians starve before our eyes.”

“The cessation of hostilities is the only action that can mitigate the risk of famine spreading further in Sudan and contain the high levels of acute food insecurity,” said Sierra Leone’s delegate, speaking also on behalf of Algeria, Guyana, and Somalia. Urging warring parties to fully adhere to their commitments under the Jeddah Declaration, he further stressed that a lasting solution to the conflict in Sudan requires an end to foreign interference and support from external actors to the warring parties.

It is essential to maintain Sudan’s sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity, added Egypt’s delegate, speaking under Security Council Rule 37. He warned that interfering in Sudan’s internal affairs “would only deepen the current conflict.”

The United States representative expressed concern about the Sudanese authorities’ decision to suspend their collaboration with the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification system. Refusing to cooperate will only disrupt donor efforts and further damage Sudan’s credibility, she stressed. “Both military factions must facilitate the establishment of humanitarian hubs to support the flow of aid and cease all diversions and theft of it,” she said, expressing regret that the Council’s efforts to adopt a resolution calling for a ceasefire fell apart due to the Russian Federation’s veto.

Several Council members, including the Russian Federation representative, questioned the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification Famine Review Committee’s findings, suggesting that the issue of hunger in Sudan is politicized to exert pressure. They argued that Sudan is not experiencing severe famine, citing only a risk of famine in five small areas—four of which are refugee camps. “The report’s conclusions seem strange,” he remarked, describing its data as “speculative.”

Echoing similar sentiments, Pakistan’s delegate noted that Sudan’s Government has questioned the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification report, including its malnutrition data and assessment, as well as its ability to collect data from conflict zones. “These views need consideration,” he said. Similarly, China’s representative suggested that the relevant organization ensure its findings reflect the “actual situation to address the problem more effectively.”

France’s representative countered, emphasizing that over half of Sudan’s population is exposed to acute food insecurity due to ongoing conflict. It is vital for conflict parties to allow rapid, safe, and comprehensive humanitarian access. Panama’s representative added: “We are surprised by the indifference with which this conflict has been met.”

Urging Sudanese authorities to respect the Famine Review Committee’s findings, the Republic of Korea’s delegate added: “It is difficult to understand the logic of calling on the international community to increase its humanitarian assistance to Sudan while denying the existence of famine.”

“The truth is not that Sudan suffers from famine,” stated Khartoum’s delegate. “Our difference with the IPC report is not just academic controversy but a difference in the statistics and data collected,” he said, expressing concern over the report’s results and methodology. Field teams cannot reach militia-controlled areas, preventing direct contact with affected populations.

He rejected the report’s classification of famine in Sudan, arguing that the methodology lacked accuracy and transparency. Only 1 percent of Sudan’s population can be classified as affected by famine