KHARTOUM, May 15 (Xinhua) -- A senior official of the UN World Food Programme (WFP) on Wednesday warned that the window to save lives in Sudan is closing as famine looms in the African country's war-torn regions.
"The situation is desperate and quickly deteriorating," WFP's Deputy Executive Director Carl Skau was quoted by the UN News Center as saying following a visit to Sudan.
"We need a paradigm shift... on the level of access, or we will see a catastrophe here in Sudan," said Skau.
Skau said that the WFP could only reach 25 to 30 percent of the 18 million Sundanese people estimated to suffer from severe food insecurity.
He added that concerted diplomatic efforts and more resources were urgently needed to protect the civilians in Sudan and strengthen the humanitarian response.
At least 5 million people in Sudan are on the brink of starvation, most of them in areas affected by the conflict that broke out in April last year, including the Darfur and Kordofan region and the capital Khartoum, according to the WFP.
The WFP has repeatedly warned that Sudan could face the world's worst hunger crisis as the conflict has entered its second year.
According to the UN, half of Sudan's population, or about 25 million people, need humanitarian assistance and protection, while nearly 18 million face acute food insecurity.
Sudan has been witnessing deadly clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces since April 15, 2023, which have killed 15,550 people and displaced 8.7 million others so far, according to recent estimates by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. ■
