“There is no famine in the country,” Sudanese minister says

Sudanese agriculture minister has declared on Thursday that there is no famine in the country, casting doubt on U.N.-backed data that 755,000 are experiencing catastrophic hunger.

Sudan has become the world’s worst hunger crisis since the outbreak of a war between the Sudanese army, whose head is also Sudan’s head of state, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, who have taken over wide swathes of the country.

“755,000 citizens are not a significant percentage compared to the total population … they cannot call that famine,” said Abubakr al-Bushra, in a news conference in Port Sudan, the country’s de facto capital.

Sudan has a population of 50 million.

The army has blocked aid and commerce from entering RSF-controlled areas, while supplies that reach those areas are expensive and frequently stolen, often by RSF soldiers, residents and aid agencies say.

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), an initiative of U.N. agencies, regional bodies and aid groups, had in late June said that while half the population were experiencing acute hunger, there were 14 spots across the country at risk of famine.

Famine can be declared if at least 20% of the population in an area experience catastrophic hunger, and thresholds on child malnutrition and death from starvation are met.

Source : Reuters