The United Nations World Food Programme (W.F.P.) is experiencing a catastrophic funding crisis, putting the lives of countless Sudanese refugees at risk. On March 12, 2024, the W.F.P. warned that without the necessary financial support, assistance in Chad would end. The W.F.P. needs $242 million (U.S.D.) to continue to provide resources for refugees over the next six months.

In Chad’s refugee camps, malnutrition and anemia are already present in new arrivals, especially children. It was noted in an A.P. news article that “9 in 10 new arrivals” are reported to have poor to borderline food consumption. The W.F.P. has assessed that 40 percent of Sudanese refugee children age five suffer from severe anemia. Chad additionally is an impoverished country that has been facing hunger prior to the mass influx of refugees. The rainy seasons from June to August exacerbate this issue. The national government declared a food and nutrition emergency in February of this year.

More than one million refugees reside in the African country of Chad following the manifestation of conflict in its neighboring country, Sudan nearly a year ago. Violence broke out as a result of escalating tensions between the government and the paramilitary group, Rapid Support Forces, resulting in mass destruction, displacement, and death. Unprecedented numbers of people fled to Chad, and now, the W.F.P. is facing the extremely difficult task of fighting mass hunger in the region.

This is a dire emergency that directly stems from the violent conflict in Sudan. Warfare has led to the large-scale displacement of Sudanese people. However, they will be left starved despite their journeys to a safer location if the W.F.P. fails to receive funding. The recent outbreak of violence additionally exacerbated previous shortages of food, water, medicine, and fuel in Sudan.

This catastrophic civil war is threatening the lives of Sudan’s people. The fighting has not stopped despite the extensive suffering of innocent people. The dignity of all people needs to matter morally across the globe. The most effective way to transform this issue starts with addressing the conflict in Sudan, although this is not easy or simple. The international community needs to urge Sudan to strive for peace for the sake of Sudanese lives. This begins with further diplomatic efforts being taken to foster productive and nonviolent communication between the fighting groups.

The violence in Sudan is an explicit deprivation of refugees’ human rights, causing the displacement of millions and therefore the specific struggle for food in Chad. Food has been considered a human right since the United Nations’ 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as it is necessary to eat to live a healthy life. As the W.F.P. strives to do, all people ought to be allowed to access food. A world in which starvation is normalized is a world in which the rights of people are disregarded, and no one should be deprived of the rights they are entitled to.

Urgent funding is needed for the W.F.P. to save lives. This issue should also be understood as a tragic consequence of violent conflict. Warfare has brought this suffering on such a large scale. As the W.F.P. hopes, money can alleviate some of this and save lives. The real work needs to take place in Sudan, transforming this war into a much less destructive moment in history.