Sudan's First Famine Declaration Signals Catastrophic Child Malnutrition Ahead

In July 2024, the UN's Integrated Food Security Phase Classification declared famine in Zamzam, Sudan's largest displacement camp — the first such IPC Phase 5 declaration since the civil war began. The WFP projects 825,000 children under five will suffer severe acute malnutrition by 2026. Without treatment, severe acute malnutrition carries a case fatality rate exceeding 20 percent. The declaration signals that therapeutic feeding infrastructure, already strained across a nation where 12 million people face displacement, cannot meet coming demand.