Sudanese Refugees Face Hunger and Malnutrition Due to Critical Funding Shortages

Strategic Insights -

As conflict erupts in Sudan, millions of people have fled to neighboring countries in search of food, shelter, and safety. The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has quickly mobilized to provide emergency assistance to refugees, but continued funding shortages threaten to leave vulnerable families, particularly children, at risk of hunger and malnutrition. WFP requires just over US$200 million to sustain its emergency response for Sudanese refugees in neighboring countries for the next 6 months, and an additional $575 million is needed for life-saving operations inside Sudan.

Key Takeaways:

  • Over 4 million people have fled Sudan to neighboring countries since the conflict began in April 2023, with families often arriving traumatized, malnourished, and with little more than the clothes on their backs.
  • WFP has provided emergency assistance to refugees in seven neighboring countries: Central African Republic, Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, Libya, South Sudan, and Uganda.
  • WFP's support to Sudanese refugees in CAR, Egypt, Ethiopia, and Libya may grind to a halt in the coming months due to funding constraints.
  • In Uganda, many vulnerable refugees are surviving on less than 500 calories a day, which is less than a quarter of daily nutritional needs.
  • In Chad, food rations for refugees will be reduced in the coming months unless new contributions are received soon.
  • Children are particularly vulnerable to sustained periods of food insecurity, with Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM) rates among refugee children in reception centers in Uganda and South Sudan having already breached emergency thresholds.
  • WFP needs $77 million for its Sudanese refugee response in Chad for the next six months, and $20 million in Egypt, $18 million in Ethiopia, and $5 million in Libya to continue support to refugees.
  • WFP faces a US$71 million shortfall in South Sudan for the Sudan refugee response (June — November).
  • Sudanese refugees are fleeing for their lives and yet are being met with more hunger, despair, and limited resources on the other side of the border.
  • WFP is urging the international community to mobilize additional resources to sustain food and nutrition assistance for Sudan's refugees and the host communities supporting them.

Statistics:

  • Over 4 million people have fled Sudan to neighboring countries since the conflict began in April 2023.
  • WFP currently supports over 25,000 refugees in Central African Republic, 1.4 million in Chad, 1.5 million in Egypt, 800,000 in Ethiopia, 50,000 in Libya, 81,000 in Uganda, and 1 million in South Sudan.
  • 860,000 refugees and 274,000 returnees have arrived in Chad since the Sudan crisis began more than two years ago.
  • WFP faces a US$71 million shortfall in South Sudan for the Sudan refugee response (June — November).
  • WFP needs just over US$200 million to sustain its emergency response for Sudanese refugees in neighboring countries for the next 6 months.
  • An additional $575 million is needed for life-saving operations inside Sudan.

Sources:

  • World Food Programme (WFP) [https://www.wfp.org/news/press-releases/2024-07-05/decline-donations-puts-world-food-programme-sudan-plan-brink]
  • World Food Programme (WFP) [https://www.wfp.org/countries/south-sudan]
  • United Nations News [https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/07/1060434-refugees-desperate-needs-can-sustain-funding-crisis-during-sudan-govt-conflict]
  • World Food Programme (WFP) [https://www.wfp.org/countries/ethiopia]
  • World Food Programme (WFP) [https://www.wfp.org/countries/libya]
  • World Food Programme (WFP) [https://www.wfp.org/countries/uganda]
  • World Food Programme (WFP) [https://www.wfp.org/countries/south-sudan]
  • World Food Programme (WFP) [https://www.wfp.org/news/press-releases/2024-07-05/decline-donations-puts-world-food-programme-sudan-plan-brink]