By Melike Pala
BRUSSELS (AA) - The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) on Monday has warned that millions of Sudanese refugees who fled conflict are facing major cuts to food aid due to critical funding shortages.
According to WFP, the hunger and malnutrition risk among millions of refugees in neighboring countries is deepening as life-saving food assistance programs face severe budget gaps.
"Millions of people who have fled Sudan depend wholly on support from WFP, but without additional funding, we will be forced to make further cuts to food assistance. This will leave vulnerable families, and particularly children, at increasingly severe risk of hunger and malnutrition," Shaun Hughes, WFP's emergency coordinator for the Sudan Regional Crisis, said.
Hughes also stressed the urgent need for political and diplomatic action to restore peace and stability.
WFP reported that malnutrition rates among refugee children at reception centers in Uganda and South Sudan have exceeded emergency thresholds.
To sustain emergency aid for refugees in neighboring countries over the next six months, WFP requires $200 million, while an additional $575 million is needed for life-saving operations inside Sudan.
The statement noted that in Uganda, some refugees survive on less than 500 calories per day. In Chad, hosting nearly 1 million Sudanese refugees, food aid will be reduced unless new funding is received soon.
The RSF and the army have been locked in a brutal power struggle since April 2023, resulting in thousands of deaths and pushing Sudan into one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.