December 30, Nairobi — Last week, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) review, a global hunger monitoring system, said that the war in Sudan has created famine conditions for 638,000 people, with 8.1 on the brink of mass starvation.
On Sunday, the Sudanese foreign ministry said in a statement that it “categorically rejects the IPC’s description of the situation in Sudan as famine.” The statement called the report, which was released on Dec. 24, “essentially speculative” and accused the IPC of procedural and transparency failings. The ministry said that the IPC team did not have access to updated field data and accused the agency of procedural and transparency failings.
The report had outlined famine in five areas in Sudan, including in Sudan’s largest displacement camp, Zamzam, in North Darfur. It also identified another 17 areas at risk of famine.
“[The war] has triggered unprecedented mass displacement, a collapsing economy, the breakdown of essential social services, severe societal disruptions, and poor humanitarian access,” the report said.
The evening before the report was released the Sudanese government withdrew its participation in the IPC.
The IPC is an independent body funded by Western nations and overseen by 19 humanitarian organizations, including more than a dozen United Nations agencies, and intergovernmental institutions