Sudan Crisis Deepens as Civilians Eat Animal Feed, Women and Girls Face ‘Gender Emergency’ — UN

 Sudan Crisis Deepens as Civilians Eat Animal Feed, Women and Girls Face ‘Gender Emergency’ — UN

United Nations officials have raised alarm over worsening hunger and mounting protection risks in conflict-hit Sudan, with desperate civilians resorting to eating animal feed and women and girls facing heightened threats of abuse.

At a press briefing on Thursday at the UN Headquarters in New York, UN deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq described the situation in El Fasher, North Darfur, as “increasingly catastrophic,” warning that prolonged shortages and soaring prices are pushing thousands toward starvation.

“With increasingly alarming food shortages and spiraling prices, people in El Fasher are reported to be resorting to eating animal feed,” Haq said. He noted that the city now records the highest cost of basic goods in Sudan, with households needing nearly $1,000 per month — including over $700 for food alone, more than eight times the cost in other regions.

The crisis is worsened by a year-long siege and the near-total halt of road-based aid deliveries, cutting off vital supplies to civilians. “These steep costs, coupled with the siege and lack of aid delivery, have left thousands facing starvation,” Haq stressed, urging for a humanitarian pause in fighting.

Edem Wosornu, director of operations and advocacy at the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), currently in Sudan, said the human suffering is “immense,” with people trapped in besieged areas, displaced from their homes, or returning to find their communities destroyed. She called for unimpeded humanitarian access to reach those in urgent need.

The crisis has also taken a severe toll on women and girls. UN Women’s Sudan representative, Salvator Nkurunziza, described the situation as a “gender emergency,” warning that displaced females face heightened risks of exploitation and abuse — particularly during aid distribution in areas where protection systems are weak or non-existent.

UN agencies continue to press for immediate humanitarian access, de-escalation of hostilities, and protection for the most vulnerable, as the war in Sudan enters a new phase of human desperation.