Sudan has been torn apart and pushed towards famine by the war that erupted in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Famine has already been declared in parts of Darfur, including at Zamzam camp for displaced people near the North Darfur capital El-Fasher, which has seen some of the war's fiercest fighting.

Despite the rampant violence and insecurity in Darfur, MSF Secretary-General Christopher Lockyear, who recently visited the region, told AFP it was possible to scale up desperately-needed aid.

What is the humanitarian situation in Darfur?
 

CL: "What we're seeing here is a catastrophe of severe proportions in terms of the humanitarian needs, but we're also seeing a global humanitarian failure in terms of the response."

"The needs are acute across the board, whether that is in terms of feeding people or treating patients, and yet the response that we're seeing globally to this need is minuscule."

"The pipelines that are coming into Darfur of food are woefully inadequate."

What can be done?
 

CL: "We need a concerted effort to flood Darfur with food and increase supply to food throughout Sudan."

"As a humanitarian community, there is a vast amount that is possible to do more in that area."

"Access is difficult. It's always difficult in a complex humanitarian emergency, but it's completely plausible to do so."

"From what I have seen, it is possible for there to be a significant scale-up in the areas of Darfur that I visited... a lot more can be done."

"We need much more UN and international organisational presence in Darfur itself."

"The border is open. There are trucks coming across. There are not enough trucks coming across."

How can a scale-up happen amid the constraints?
 

CL: "We need to challenge ourselves to get over those constraints, or perceived constraints."

"Certainly, there's an attention or a lack of attention on Sudan, and it's important to draw that attention to Sudan."

"There are funding questions, yes, but... there is an energy and a prioritisation and a political willingness to be able to respond, which is at the core of it."

"What my journey tells me is the fact that it was possible to cross the border from Chad into Darfur. It was also possible to move around a large part of Darfur... A lot more can be done."

"What I witnessed in our hospitals, were hospitals that were largely fully stocked... that we were able to supply. Not always easy, and it's requiring a lot of effort, and it is physically or geographically difficult to move around, but it shows that it is possible."

How many aid trucks are crossing from Chad?
 

CL: "If you look at the Chad crossing, the Adre crossing, since that was opened in August, there's been an average of five trucks a day crossing that border into Darfur."

"Our estimates are that for the Zamzam camp alone in North Darfur, we need 400 trucks a month just for that one camp, let alone the other 10 million people in Darfur."

"So it is a massive scale-up that is needed across that border... The border is open, and we need to optimise access across that border."

"It's not just about the trucks of food. It's also about... hands-on treating patients."

"The intensity of some of the treatment towards acute malnutrition... requires trained practitioners who are able to be in location."

"Food distribution is a complicated endeavour, and that requires NGOs and agencies to be on the ground to be able to ensure that that can be done safely."

"So yes, we need much more food coming into Darfur, but that's only part of the picture."