New study says urgent action to enhance food aid and revitalize agriculture critical to avert famine in Sudan
Pervasive severe food insecurity in Sudan necessitates urgent and
extensive interventions to enhance food aid, revitalize agricultural systems,
and restore supply chains, to mitigate the food crisis and prevent further
escalation. Preventing a looming famine also requires an immediate ceasefire,
unhindered humanitarian access, and increased support for food, nutrition,
health, water, and sanitation interventions, concludes a new report launched
today.
The joint report from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) titled "Livelihoods in Sudan amid Armed Conflict” assesses
the social and economic impacts of the ongoing armed conflict on rural Sudan.
The report is based on analyses of a comprehensive survey of rural households
across the country that both organizations conducted from November 2023 to
January 2024, including 4,504 households.
“Understanding how the armed conflict in Sudan—now reaching the one-year
mark—impacts people’s lives and livelihoods provides an important foundation
for targeted interventions and policy reforms to mitigate the adverse impacts
of the conflict and foster long-term resilience and economic stability,” said
Thair Shraideh, UNDP Resident Representative, a.i., in Sudan. “In a country
where two thirds of the population live in rural areas, we prioritized focusing
on rural households. We plan to complement the findings of this study with
similar surveys focusing on urban households and on micro, small and medium
enterprises.”
The study observes that the conflict has severely disrupted incomes of
rural households and exacerbated existing vulnerabilities related to their
housing and access to infrastructure and services. Most households live in
inadequate housing, with disparities in access to water, electricity, and
sanitation services posing additional challenges. Rural households have low
access to assets, including agricultural land, which further complicates their
livelihoods.
Khalid Siddig, IFPRI Senior Research Fellow and Leader of the Sudan
Strategy Support Program said: “Most of the enormous challenges currently
facing Sudan existed before the conflict, including household food insecurity,
dysfunctional markets, and regional and gender disparities, however, the war
has greatly exacerbated these chronic problems.”
The study highlights an accelerating food insecurity crisis. 59% of
rural households face moderate or severe food insecurity, with highest
prevalence in the states of West Kordofan, South Kordofan, and Blue Nile. The
study warns that a famine in Sudan is expected in 2024, particularly in the
states of Khartoum, Aj Jazirah, and in the Darfur and Kordofan regions.
Rural households experiencing a decrease in income and those
encountering shocks, such as illness, death, or climatic events, are
particularly vulnerable to high food insecurity. The situation is most critical
for rural households that have completely lost their income.
More than half of the rural households in the sample reported that their
farming work was disrupted, with the highest percentage in Khartoum state,
exceeding 68%, and in Sennar and West Kordofan states, both at around
63%.
The conflict has also led to severe disruptions in employment and
livelihoods, resulting in widespread economic instability. A significant
proportion of rural households (36.9%) experienced a shift in income-generating
activities, with 15% transitioning from employment to no employment.
Nationally, income has dropped for 60% of sampled households, with alarming
incidences of complete income loss, particularly in conflict-affected areas, with
income reductions of over 50%.
Mass migration forced by the conflict, particularly from peri-urban to
rural areas, has led to substantial income losses among migrants.
Intensity of the conflict served as a significant push factor for
migration across the different states of Sudan. For example, a striking 57% of
households of rural Khartoum were forced to relocate during the current
conflict—the highest among all states.
The study emphasizes the necessity of coordinated efforts to mitigate
the multifaceted effects of the conflict on rural communities and improve the
livelihoods of the most vulnerable populations, including:
· Immediate humanitarian and food
assistance for households
facing severe food insecurity and income loss.
· Urgent support to agricultural
livelihoods, focusing on providing
farmers with access to subsidized inputs, rehabilitation of irrigation
infrastructure, and training programs on resilient farming practices.
· Restoring market functionality is vital for both economic
recovery and food security, including reconstructing market infrastructure,
establishing secure trade corridors, and supporting local traders and small
businesses to resume operations.
· Immediate efforts should be directed
towards improving access to basic utilities, including safe
drinking water, sanitation, and electricity, particularly in conflict-affected
regions.
· Rapid economic interventions including through immediate cash
transfer programs to alleviate financial burdens and enable households to
access food and other necessities. Longer-term interventions should focus on
offering households alternative livelihood options and on diversifying income
sources, active labor market policies, vocational training, and support for
non-agricultural micro-enterprises.
· Establishing and expanding social protection programs to support the most vulnerable,
including women-headed households, households with low education levels, large
families, and unemployed and daily-wage workers.
Additional
Key Findings
· 73% of rural households in Sudan live
in inadequate housing.
· 30% of homes of surveyed households are
connected to a water network—their own or through a neighbor.
· Less than 10% of rural households have
flush toilet access, while a similar portion report having no toilet facility
at all. Most households reported relying on an unimproved pit latrine with dirt
floors for their toilet facility.
· 32.2% of rural households do not have
access to electricity.
· Over 71% of rural households do not own
agricultural land. Just under half of the households that reported owning
agricultural land own less than 5 feddans (2.1 hectares).
· Over 70% of respondents indicated that
they did not cultivate any land during the 2023 summer season. Half of the
households that reported cultivating land indicated that their farming was
disrupted by the conflict.
· 25% of rural households reported that
they were not able to visit markets due to physical barriers, economic
limitations, or safety issues. 43% reported being unable to make essential
purchases—64% of those citing high prices are the primary barrier.