Sudanese starve as soup kitchens close down and warring parties block aid

A catastrophic hunger crisis in Sudan, where millions of people are at risk of dying from malnutrition-related illnesses, is beingexacerbated by the US’s decision to suspend foreign aid.

The US Agency for International Development (USAID) has suspended nearly all of the global projects it funds, and its administration took leave of the majority of its employees since taking office in January.

USAID contributed $44.4 million to Sudan’s $1 last year. Despite the UN’s recommendation, there was an $8 billion humanitarian response.

A portion of this money went toward funding Emergency Response Rooms (ERRs), neighborhood relief organizations that help run hundreds of “community kitchens” across the nation.

When USAID stopped providing any funding, about 80% of the 1,460 community kitchens in Sudan were shut down, according to Hajooj Kuka, the state’s ERRs’ spokesperson.

bridging the void

Local and international relief workers claim that communal kitchens have kept hundreds of thousands of people alive in areas where UN agencies and global relief organizations are unable to reach due to the wilful obstruction of aid by the warring parties since a power conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) erupted into civil war in April 2023.

More than 600,000 people in Sudan are currently experiencing famine levels, and eight million are in danger of going into famine, according to the UN Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a global hunger monitor.

The current pause in USAID funding could only make the situation worse.

Some organizations have been granted waivers from the US government to continue providing life-saving services, according to Iyad Agha, the humanitarian coordinator for international nongovernmental organizations in Sudan.

However, many of these services were ultimately discontinued after the US determined that they were insufficient to provide for life. Days later, the Trump administration reinstated some terminations and made certain services resume.

Agha claimed that Washington’s choices are “completely random.”

In the midst of the chaos and confusion, NGOs are paralyzed and unsure of how to proceed, and the Sudanese people who need aid are the most affected, he told Al Jazeera.

There is a “large gap” to close, Agha added, if some other donors want to step in [for the lack of USAID].

Finding alternative funding has become a priority for ERRs.

In order to continue serving beleaguered civilians during the holy month of Ramadan, which officially began earlier in March, Kwaka claimed that community kitchens have gotten funding from the Sudanese diaspora and smaller charitable organizations.

Despite their efforts, 63 percent of community kitchens have been shut down since the US government stopped the majority of foreign aid, according to Kuka.

There are only certain things we can do. He claimed that there simply isn’t enough food for everyone.

However, we’ve started an online donation drive, and during Ramadan, people typically donate more during this time, he continued.

Looting and obstacles

Local and international relief workers claim that the hunger crisis was brought on by both sides of Sudan’s civil war.

Some relief workers cite the fact that UN agencies recognize the Sudanese army as the de facto ruling body.

The army has the authority to approve or reject aid shipments coming from neighboring nations like Chad and South Sudan, which the army does not control. Prior to joining forces with the relevant authorities in each area of Sudan, critics have previously advised humanitarians to do so in order to reach as many needy people as possible.

Additionally, UN organizations that view the army as the de facto government are required to conduct all humanitarian operations from Port Sudan, which makes it logistically challenging to reach remote areas like the Nuba Mountains in South Kordofan and Darfur.

Additionally, the army is accused of imposing bureaucratic restrictions that prevent and slow aid shipments.

The army’s procedures are cumbersome, according to the article. The World Food Programme (WFP) spokesperson, Leni Kinzli, described the process as being “a mountain of paperwork.”

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the General Intelligence Services, the Humanitarian Aid Commission, and the National Intelligence Services are just a few of the organizations we work with.

We need a stamp from all of those organizations, she told Al Jazeera, essentially, for any [aid truck to move].

Additionally, the SAF is accused of preventing aid to areas under the control of RSF by humanitarian workers and analysts. However, Nabil Abdullah, a spokesman for the army, has repeatedly refuted this claim and criticized the RSF for starving civilians.

The ERR’s spokesperson in Sharq el-Nile, a sprawling Khartoum district, claimed that the RSF had made the hunger crisis worse.

She claimed that the group had attacked all of Khartoum’s main markets ahead of Ramadan, and that many residents were hesitant to leave their neighborhoods because they were concerned that civilians might be targeted at RSF checkpoints.

People run away because the RSF frequently robs people of their phones and money, she told Al Jazeera.

Al Jazeera reached the RSF’s press office to inquire about reports that its fighters are looting markets and robbing civilians at gunpoint, but the organization did not respond before it was published.

hunger and insecurities

Local relief organizations and aid organizations are finding it increasingly difficult to reach beleaguered civilians as the conflict between the RSF and the Sudanese army grows.

When the RSF shelled the camp on February 10 and 11, the WFP was forced to halt aid operations in the Zamzam displacement camp, where more than 500,000 people are residing and struggling to survive a famine.

Through a regional organization, World Food Programme (WFP) was offering food vouchers to about 60,000 Zamzam residents.

Our ground partners had to resign. Due to RSF shelling, they were forced to flee for their lives, which is why we had to halt assistance, according to Kinzli, the organization’s spokesperson.

The few remaining communal kitchens are attempting to feed the countless new arrivals, but the conflict for Khartoum also causes significant displacement throughout Sharq el-Nile.

Kuka claims that many people try to find fish in the Nile or grow vegetables in their gardens, but the amount of food they can eat is hardly sufficient.

He stated that ERRs are contacting UN agencies and the European Union to try to close the USAID gap left behind. Kuka warned that hundreds of thousands of people will starve and die from malnutrition-related diseases if no one takes action.

We are discussing a number one. 8 million people use these kitchens. What does it mean for them to no longer receive food? Kuka remarked.

“People are already enthralled,” We are merely making our best efforts to prevent Sudan from becoming a total famine.   However, the country will experience more and more pockets of famine if this [food shortage] persists. ”

Source: Aljazeera