UN: Sudan on Track to Become the Worst Global Hunger Crisis

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has warned that the ongoing conflict, now nearly a year old, between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has placed the African nation on a path toward becoming the worst hunger crisis in the world, with rising malnutrition rates already claiming the lives of children. Humanitarian Operations Director Edem Wosornu told the UN Security Council that one-third of Sudan's population, around 18 million people, face severe food insecurity, and catastrophic hunger levels could be reached in some areas of Darfur by the "lean season" in May. She added, "A recent assessment revealed that a child dies every two hours at the Zamzam camp in El Fasher, North Darfur. Our humanitarian partners estimate that in the coming weeks and months, around 222,000 children may die in some parts of the region due to malnutrition," according to the Associated Press. Wosornu described the violent situation, which has seen harrowing accounts of ethnic attacks and sexual violence, including mass rapes and indiscriminate attacks in densely populated areas, as "nightmare material."