GENEVA

Families in Sudan are being pushed to the brink as "brutal conflict" and famine continue, with the World Food Program (WFP) warning that its life-saving operations are at risk due to severe funding shortages.

As Sudan marks more than 1,000 days of conflict this month, WFP said in a statement, the world’s "largest hunger and displacement crisis shows no signs of abating," while the agency struggles to keep emergency operations running.

Since the resurgence of civil conflict in April 2023, the agency said that WFP has reached more than 10 million of the most vulnerable women, men and children with emergency food, cash and nutrition assistance. It added that the agency continues to deliver life-saving aid to an average of four million people each month, including in hard-to-reach areas across Darfur and Kordofan regions, as well as Khartoum and Al Jazira states.

"These hard-earned gains now risk being reversed," Ross Smith, WFP director of emergency preparedness and response said.

"WFP has been forced to reduce rations to the absolute minimum for survival. By the end of March, we will have depleted our food stocks in Sudan. Without immediate additional funding, millions of people will be left without vital food assistance within weeks."

According to WFP, over the past six months, nearly 1.8 million people in famine- or risk-of-famine areas have received regular monthly assistance, while recent breakthroughs, including a joint UN convoy into Kadugli in October, have provided limited access to families cut off from aid for months.

After more than two years of fighting, more than 21 million people face acute hunger in Sudan, WFP said, with famine confirmed in parts of the country and nearly 12 million people forced to flee their homes.

It said 3.7 million children and pregnant and breastfeeding mothers are also malnourished.

The agency said it urgently requires $700 million to continue operations in Sudan from January to June.

"We can turn the tide and avert famine conditions spreading further, but only if we have the funding to support these most vulnerable families," Smith said.