GENEVA

Sudan is experiencing the "worst levels" of acute food insecurity ever recorded, with 755,000 people facing starvation, according to the latest food security assessment report released on Thursday.

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report said over half the population, 25.6 million people, are in crisis or worse conditions (IPC Phase 3 or above), while 755,000 people are facing "catastrophe" food insecurity (IPC Phase 5) in 10 states, including the five states of Greater Darfur, as well as South and North Kordofan, Blue Nile, Al Jazirah, and Khartoum states.

Meanwhile, 8.5 million people, or %18 of the population, are facing extreme food shortages that could lead to acute malnutrition and hunger-related death.

The assessment also revealed that there is a risk of famine in 14 areas – affecting residents, IDPs and refugees – in Greater Darfur, Greater Kordofan, Al Jazirah states and some hotspots in Khartoum, if the conflict escalates further, including through increased mobilization of local militias.

At least 534,000 IDPs and refugees in conflict-affected localities and states for which data were available (representing around 20% of the displaced population in Sudan) are likely to face critical or catastrophic levels of acute food insecurity (IPC Phase 4 or 5), it said.

Compared to the previous IPC update released in Dec. 2023, there is a dramatic increase in the number of people in IPC Phase 3 or above by 45% (from 17.7 million to 25.6 million).

In addition, the number of people in IPC Phase 4 (emergency) increased by 74% (+3.6 million), while the population in IPC Phase 5 (catastrophe) surged from zero to 755,000.

The conflict in Sudan broke out in April 2023, when army Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo disagreed on whether the RSF should be integrated into the military.

The conflict has killed nearly 16,000 people, displaced millions, and caused a devastating humanitarian crisis in the country, according to UN figures.