SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Reuters - Exclusive: Famine watchdog projects 756,000 Sudanese face starvation in coming months

13/6/2024: Reuters - Exclusive: Famine watchdog projects 756,000 Sudanese face starvation in coming months, by Giulia Paravicini and Steve Stecklow

Reuters report that an estimated 756,000 people in Sudan could face catastrophic food shortages by September, according to a preliminary projection by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) used by UN agencies and aid groups to determine whether to officially declare a famine.

The IPC’s famine determination scale has five classifications, ranging from Phase 1, (no serious food issues), to Phase 5 (catastrophe or famine). The IPC projects that 756,000 in Sudan will face Phase 5 catastrophe by September.

The projection identified 32 localities and clusters where the population was suffering catastrophic food shortages. 15% of the population faced IPC 5 catastrophic conditions in Al-Fashir and nearby Zamzam camp for internally displaced persons. Three other areas were cited where 10% of the population had reached the threshold.

Reuters note that many of the areas in the projection where seized by the Rapid Support militia (RSF).