Rape. Murder. Hunger. Corpses filling streets, making it impossible to walk. Sudan was plunged into an ongoing, devastating war one year ago on 15 April, leaving in its wake almost 15,000 dead, eight million civilians on the run, 25 million in dire need of assistance and warnings from humanitarians about famine, aid blockades and a growing list of atrocities on all sides.
Suffering is growing too and is likely to get worse, Justin Brady, head of the UN humanitarian relief office, OCHA, in Sudan, warned UN News.
"Without more resources, not only will we not be able to stop a famine, we're not going to be help able to help basically anybody," he said.
"Most of the rations that people receive from the likes of the World Food Programme (WFP) are cut in half already, so we can't strip more off the bone to try and make this operation work."
The grim conditions on the ground hit an emergency level soon after the rival Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces launched air and ground attacks in mid-April 2023, he said, as a tsunami of violence continues to surge across the country today, from the capital, Khartoum, and spiralling outwards.
Not 'at the bottom' yet
"Our biggest concerns are around the conflict areas in Khartoum itself and the Darfur states," he said from Port Sudan, where humanitarian efforts are continuing to get lifesaving aid to those most in need.
The entire aid community was forced to relocate from the capital just a few weeks into the fighting due to the dire security situation.
While a recent famine alert shows that almost 18 million Sudanese are facing acute hunger, the $2.7 billion response plan for 2024 is only six per cent funded, Mr. Brady said.
"It's very bad, but I don't think we're at the bottom," he said.
