A suspension of foreign aid by the United States is compounding a severe hunger crisis in Sudan, where millions are at risk of death from malnutrition-related illnesses, as per Al Jazeera.
The situation has deteriorated following the eruption of civil war in April 2023.
Since taking office in January, the Trump administration has reportedly placed employees at the US Agency for International Development (USAID) on leave or terminated their employment and paused the majority of its global projects. Last year, USAID contributed 44 percent of the $1.8 billion allocated for humanitarian response in Sudan, according to the United Nations.
A portion of this funding supported Emergency Response Rooms (ERRs), neighborhood relief groups that support a network of “community kitchens” across the country. These kitchens have been crucial in providing food to hundreds of thousands of people in areas inaccessible to UN agencies and international relief organizations due to obstruction by the warring Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Despite the efforts of ERR volunteers, the UN Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) estimates that over 600,000 people in Sudan are experiencing famine-level hunger, and approximately eight million are on the brink of famine.
The suspension of USAID funding is raising concerns that the hunger crisis will be further exacerbated.
