(MENAFN) UN Women on Tuesday urged urgent international action to protect and prioritize women and girls in Sudan, warning that nearly 11 million are now facing acute food insecurity amid the country’s ongoing conflict and deepening humanitarian crisis.

“For over two consecutive years, every front line in Sudan has cut through the bodies, homes, livelihoods, and futures of women and girls, who have endured the sharpest edge of Sudan’s horrific conflict,” said Anna Mutavati, UN Women’s regional director for East and Southern Africa, at a press briefing in Geneva.

According to the agency’s latest Gender Dimensions of Food Insecurity in Sudan alert, women in the country are disproportionately affected by hunger and violence. “Simply being a woman in Sudan is a strong predictor of hunger,” Mutavati noted.

As fighting intensifies in El-Fasher and food insecurity spreads across Darfur, women and girls face “extreme hunger, displacement, death, and sexual and gender-based violence,” she said.

The situation has worsened with famine officially declared by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) in El-Fasher and Kadugli as of November. UN Women’s findings show that 73.7% of women do not meet minimum dietary diversity standards, reflecting “extremely poor diets and a heightened risk of malnutrition.”

Mutavati called for humanitarian responses that address the specific needs of women and girls, urging safe corridors for civilians, prioritization of women-headed households in food aid, and support to rebuild their livelihoods.

“All parties must protect women and girls and uphold their obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law,” she said, appealing to donors to “recognize, resource, and partner with women-led organizations.”

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