Children are dying of famine in Sudan, women are choosing sex in exchange for food
photo: Collected
After a year of fighting between two factions of the military and paramilitary in Sudan, the country is facing a severe food crisis. Children are dying of hunger due to lack of food, sick people in the country are spending money to buy food instead of buying medicine. In this situation, famine has occurred in the country.
In mid-April last year, the two groups clashed over a conflict between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the head of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Mohammad Hamdan "Hemedati" Dagalo.
Since the start of the war, the agricultural production in the country has decreased significantly. The country has experienced significant food price hikes over the past year and is not getting enough food.
Mukhtar Atif, spokesperson of Emergency Response Room (ERR), a voluntary organization that helps civilians across the country, said that civilians are dying silently in the war.
Atif's network organization provides food to nearly 45,000 people in 70 communities in Khartoum North, three cities in the National Capital Region.
ERR has become a trusted source for thousands of people across Sudan. But sometimes reaching different places is restricted for them. The organization relies on donations, most of which come through the mobile banking app. It was almost shut down last February when the communication outage began.
Without the help of this organization, the fire in hundreds of kitchens would not have been extinguished. There are long queues for help every day. People stand for hours with pots in hand for fuel.
However, most of the fighting is centered on Khartoum. After the start of the war, the people of this region scattered in different directions. The fighting has severely limited the regular movement of food and relief vehicles and deepened the hunger crisis in Sudan.
The UN estimates that about 25 million people need aid, half of Sudan's total population. The conflict has forced more than 8 million people to flee their homes.
A UN source told Al Jazeera that both warring sides were blocking food aid. They are trying to prevent food from reaching their controlled areas.
Aid sent to civilians in areas controlled by paramilitary forces through a port in Sudan controlled by the army has to go through several stages. According to Al Jazeera sources, five different stamps are required to complete the process. This can take days to weeks. Last January, more than 70 trucks were waiting at the port for more than two weeks for clearance.
The army did not respond to Al Jazeera when asked if it prevented aid from reaching areas controlled by paramilitary forces.
The source also said that since October, more than 70 relief trucks have been stranded in North Kordofan state. An area controlled by the Army but surrounded by the RSF. In order for the aid truck to go safely to this area, a tax has to be paid. Be it money, goods or fuel.
RSF spokesman Abdel Rahman al-Jali did not respond to written questions about whether the aid vehicles were profiting from the money.
The food crisis has been compounded by mobile network shutdown for almost two months. At that time they could not even collect remittances sent by people's relatives abroad. Mobile networks are important for many as they use mobile banking apps to receive money.
Elon Musk's Starlink satellite communications service has been offering to connect for the past three weeks. But it has become a business in that area. In some areas, people have to pay up to 4,000 Sudanese pounds (6.6 dollars) to get a connection for 10 minutes.
WFP officials and workers reported that parents were underfeeding their children. Selling their last possessions, begging for money or diverting money from medicine to food.
Dalia Abdelmoniem, a political commentator working on policy and advocacy at the Sudanese think tank Fikra, said women are being forced to become concubines of fighters in the RSA in exchange for sex and to ensure family security and food security.
Sex has emerged as a "common trend" to survive here, says an activist who works with women victims of gender-based violence in Sudan.
A Lancet report on March 16 said that the health care system has collapsed along with the hunger crisis. Two or three children die of starvation every week at Beshit Al-Baluk Hospital, the only remaining child health facility in the capital, Khartoum.
UK charity Save the Children says 230,000 children, pregnant women and new mothers could die of hunger in the next month.
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said in a report released last week that Sudan's grain production could be cut in half by 2023. The greatest loss of food crop production occurred where the conflict was most intense. The Greater Kordofan state and Darfur regions experience an average 80 percent reduction in production, according to the FAO.
