Dozens of countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Germany, have warned that Sudan is facing an alarming deterioration in food security and a growing risk of famine in the coming months. The joint statement, issued on 23 October and reported by Reuters on 27 October, urges the parties to Sudan's conflict to lift all impediments on humanitarian assistance.

What the joint statement says

The signatories say there is no time to lose to save lives and prevent famine. They call on the international community to scale up funding, and urge financial institutions to adapt their programmes to the food security situation. They also place primary responsibility for alleviating civilian suffering on the parties to the conflict, and ask them to protect humanitarian personnel and refrain from strikes on civilian infrastructure, including agriculture and food systems.

The scale of hunger, in the signatories' figures

The statement estimates that 19.5 million people, 41 per cent of Sudan's population, are experiencing high levels of acute food insecurity, including five million facing emergency levels. Without action to reverse the trend, it says, the number of children suffering severe acute malnutrition could exceed a projected 825,000, and the number of food-insecure areas, initially assessed at 14, is expected to double. Conflict is named as the key driver, displacing millions and damaging infrastructure, food production, supply chains and markets, with aid obstruction and El Nino-linked drought worsening the crisis.

Why access is the central demand

The statement asks for operations through all crossline and cross-border routes, including air access into Darfur, so aid can move quickly and aid workers can be medically evacuated. Sudan's army has fought the Rapid Support Forces since April 2023, and Reuters reports the war has displaced more than 14 million people.

Sources: Reuters; Government of Canada — joint statement text.