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A number of activists reacted to the United Nations’ announcement of a possible famine threatening Sudan, and its confirmation that more than 25 million Sudanese face the risk of hunger, meaning more than half of the population of 48 million.

The United Nations World Food Program also said it was receiving reports of people dying of hunger in Sudan due to the war.

Meanwhile, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) warned of the risk of more than 700,000 Sudanese children being exposed to what it called "the most dangerous forms of malnutrition this year."

The organization expected that tens of thousands of these children would die, according to its spokesman, James Elder, who wrote: “The organization will not be able to treat more than 300,000 of them, if humanitarian aid support does not arrive.”

Many international organizations have warned of the recurrence of major famines, such as those that struck Sudan previously, most notably the “Year 6” famine that occurred in 1888 due to drought, claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of people, and was one of the worst devastating famines.

The modern history of Sudan also witnessed other famines, the most important of which are: the 1985 famine, which occurred simultaneously with the worst drought wave that struck the countries of East Africa, the 1988 famine, which came after a wave of massive floods that submerged large agricultural areas, and the 1998 famine due to the southern war, which claimed the lives of 70,000 people in the Bahr el Ghazal region alone. .

The episode (2/11/2024) of the “Shabakat” program monitored some activists’ tweets about what might be the cause of the expected famine in Sudan, which varied between sympathy for citizens and blaming the war that has been going on in Sudan since mid-April last year.

Sadness and sympathy

For his part, the activist Ahmed expressed sympathy with the citizens and tweeted: “Sudan has entered a famine and the Sudanese have begun to die from hunger. It is forbidden, by God, to anyone who wants this to happen.”

While Amjad attributed the decline in local food production in Sudan largely to the war, he called on the United Nations to "officially declare a comprehensive famine at the national level in Sudan and deal with the humanitarian situation accordingly."

As for the activist Haya, she expressed her sadness at what is happening in Sudan and said, “It is something that hurts the heart. Our brothers in Sudan are going through a very violent war, not to mention the attacks on women and girls.” She continued, saying: “Deaths have actually been recorded due to famine.”

The account owner, Mustafa, emphasized the difficult humanitarian situation in Sudan and said: “Sudan has a famine and every hour a child dies from hunger, not from war.”

For his part, activist Muhammad expressed his concern for the future of Sudan and tweeted: “The most worrying thing is that there is a coming famine in all of Sudan,” explaining that “there is difficulty in avoiding it, due to the lack of a surplus to cover the shortage in the most crisis areas.” Pointing out that what makes the matter more complicated is “the lack of safe corridors for delivery.”

It is noteworthy that the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator, Martin Griffiths, said in a press statement that the United Nations needs about 4.1 billion dollars during the current year, to provide urgent aid to those affected by the war and the displaced in Sudan.

Press reports indicated that some humanitarian organizations are talking about other difficulties they face in Sudan to deliver food aid to those affected, the most important of which are limited capabilities, tense security conditions, and a significant lack of funding.

Source: Al Jazeera