Starvation is widespread across war-torn Sudan, according to the head of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, following a visit to the country. Speaking to the media, Dr. Tedros described the situation as “very alarming” due to massive displacement and the looming threat of famine. He noted that 12 million people have already been displaced, making it the world’s largest displacement crisis, and expressed concern about the global community’s lack of attention, citing race as a contributing factor.
The civil war in Sudan, which erupted in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), has resulted in thousands of deaths. Dr. Tedros painted a grim picture of the devastation: “Destruction, displacement, diseases everywhere, and now famine.” He recounted seeing severely malnourished children during his visit to a camp for internally displaced people and a hospital, warning that close to 25 million people—half of Sudan’s population—are in desperate need of assistance.
Despite the gravity of the crisis, Dr. Tedros stressed that Sudan is not receiving the international attention it warrants, a trend he noted in other African conflicts as well. He attributed the lack of focus to racial bias, commenting, “I think race is in play here. We see the pattern now.” Reflecting on his own experience growing up during the war in Ethiopia, Dr. Tedros said he empathizes with the people of Sudan, likening the current situation to his childhood memories of war and survival.
Dr. Tedros also compared the response to Sudan’s crisis with the attention given to Ukraine after Russia’s invasion in 2022, pointing out the disparity in aid. He has previously stated that crises in Africa, such as those in Tigray, Yemen, Afghanistan, and Syria, have not received the same level of support.
The famine, officially declared in August by a UN-backed committee of experts, has severely impacted a camp near the besieged city of el-Fasher in Darfur, which shelters around 500,000 displaced people. The civil war stems from a power struggle between Sudanese army leader Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and RSF chief Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, who had previously staged a joint coup in 2021 before falling out and plunging Sudan into conflict. Efforts to mediate the situation, led by Saudi Arabia and the US, have so far failed to bring an end to the war. The UAE is accused of financially and militarily supporting the RSF, though it denies the allegations, while Saudi Arabia is reportedly aligned with the Sudanese government.
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