The deputy executive director of the U.N. World Food Program (WFP) has recently traveled to various critical areas in the Middle East and Sudan to evaluate the severe humanitarian crises and the growing demand for food among millions affected by ongoing conflicts. Carl Skau shared in a recent interview that the Rome-based organization is grappling with significant funding shortages, which have forced it to reduce the number of people it can assist.
Despite efforts to broaden its funding sources, including reaching out to the private sector, Skau highlighted that the organization is facing tough challenges ahead due to increasing gaps between needs and available resources. “The needs continue to escalate, and our funding remains unstable,” Skau commented.
**A Tripling Crisis in Syria**
The situation in Syria is exacerbated by a 13-year civil war, a recent influx of people from the Israel-Hezbollah conflict in Lebanon, and the unexpected ousting of Bashar Assad by rebels. Prior to these developments, 3 million people were already experiencing acute food insecurity, though the WFP was only able to assist 2 million due to financial constraints. Skau described the evolving circumstances as a “triple crisis,” where the demand for aid is set to soar.
In Aleppo, conditions are relatively stable, but the capital, Damascus, faces significant challenges, including market disruptions, declining currency value, skyrocketing food prices, and broken transportation networks. This situation calls for a more extensive humanitarian response in the immediate future, while the U.N. plans to shift its focus toward Syria’s eventual recovery and reconstruction.
**Escalating Crisis in Gaza**
Skau expressed grave concerns over the humanitarian plight in northern Gaza, especially as temperatures drop and over a million individuals remain stranded north of Khan Younis. In northern Gaza, an estimated 65,000 Palestinians have not received any aid for more than two months due to ongoing Israeli military operations and general lawlessness. Nevertheless, some humanitarian supplies have reached areas like Gaza City, where around 300,000 people are located.
In southern Gaza, WFP provided assistance to approximately 1.2 million people during the months from June to September. However, that number has dramatically dropped to just 400,000 individuals in October and November due to severe logistical issues along with a significant reduction in the supply of essential goods. Skau pointed out that this is largely due to the limited entry points and the collapse of civil order, making it more difficult to transport food supplies.
International famine experts have recently warned that, unless conditions improve, Gaza is heading toward famine, which Skau agrees is a concerning trajectory.
**Sudan Faces Extreme Humanitarian Needs**
Meanwhile, Sudan is marked as one of the world’s most significant humanitarian disasters, with 25 million people experiencing acute food insecurity and famine officially declared in the large Zam Zam camp for displaced persons in western Darfur. Skau mentioned that, over the past month, there have been improvements in securing permits to aid distributions across conflict zones and the border from Chad. With the rainy season coming to an end, WFP can deliver much more food than before.
One convoy successfully reached Zam Zam camp, and two additional convoys were in transit but stalled due to conflicts in El Fasher, North Darfur’s capital, also the only city still controlled by the Sudanese military, while others have fallen to the Rapid Support Forces.
Sudan plunged into violence in mid-April 2023, as long-standing tensions flared between military and paramilitary factions in Khartoum, which quickly spread throughout the country, including western Darfur. Skau indicated that, in October alone, WFP was able to assist around 2.6 million people, but he emphasized that the global community needs to take more decisive actions to address the ongoing crisis in Sudan moving forward.