1998 Sudan famine

none 1998 Sudan famine 1998 Sudan (esp. Bahr el Ghazal) famine 70,000+ The famine in Sudan in 1998 was a humanitarian disaster caused mainly by the Second Sudanese Civil War, including attacks on civilians, mass displacement, the destruction and seizure of food resources, and restrictions on humanitarian aid, with drought linked to El Niño as a contributing factor. The worst affected area was Bahr el Ghazal in southwestern Sudan. In this region over 70,000 people died during the famine.Ó Gráda Cormac 2009 Famine: a short history Princeton University Press 24 978-0-691-12237-3 . https://books.google.com/books?id=LoN2XkjJio4C&pg=PA24 Causes The 1998 Sudan famine had multiple causes, including the Second Sudanese Civil War, which severely affected civilian life.Deng Luka Biong October 2002 The Sudan Famine of 1998 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1759-5436.2002.tb00041.x IDS Bulletin 33 4 36-37 10.1111/j.1759-5436.2002.tb00041.x 0265-5012 subscription During the civil war, agricultural production and food supplies were disrupted by the destruction of crops and food supplies, cattle theft and mass displacement.Famine in Sudan, 1998 https://www.hrw.org/reports/1999/sudan/ 2026-05-17 www.hrw.org Many people were forced to leave their agricultural lands and livestock, which reduced the agricultural production significantly.Deng Luka Biong Famine in the Sudan: causes, preparedness and response: a political, social and economic analysis of the 1998 Bahr el Ghazal Famine 1999 Institute for Development Studies, University of Sussex 978-1-85864-265-9 Discussion paper / Institute of Development Studies Brighton viii-ix https://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/ndownloader/files/48231718 The scale of displacement further intensified the crisis, as communities were forced into areas with limited access to markets, healthcare, and sanitation services.1998-08-26 Report of a WHO/UNICEF Joint Assessment Mission to Bahr-El-Ghazal, Sudan https://reliefweb.int/report/sudan/report-whounicef-joint-assessment-mission-bahr-el-ghazal-sudan 2026-05-22 reliefweb.int en A lack of security across commerce and supply routes made these situations worse by further limiting the flow of food into affected regions. At the same time, in the Bahr El Ghazal region, armed groups raided many times and burnt villages, looted the supplies and destroyed many resources that are essential for civilians. Especially, conflicts during the cultivation period in 1997 led to shortages and scarcity in the region, contributing to famine in 1998. The famine was also linked indirectly to the war economy, as resources were directed towards weapons and medical supplies etc., rather than support for agriculture and farming. In Bahr El Ghazal, the crisis was worsenened by a lack of strong government intervention, and poor cooperation between the government in the North and authorities in the South.May 2026 Furthermore, instability disrupted Sudan's economy by limiting trade and supply routes.Von Braun Joachim Famine in Africa: causes, responses, and prevention Tesfaye Teklu Webb Patrick 1999 Johns Hopkins University Press International Food Policy Research Institute 1999 978-0-8018-6121-5 Baltimore 10 The inflation rate increased significantly, and rising food prices reduced the accessibility of food even where there was a sufficient supply.Olsson Lennart September 1993 Desertification in Africa ? A critique and an alternative approach https://doi.org/10.1007/bf00815899 GeoJournal 31 1 395–402 10.1007/bf00815899 0343-2521 subscription At the same time environmental factors contributed to famine as well; especially drought with El Niño reduced the rainfall and productivity of agricultural lands during the growing season in 1997.Deng Luka Biong Famine in the Sudan: causes, preparedness and response: a political, social and economic analysis of the 1998 Bahr el Ghazal Famine 1999 Institute for Development Studies, University of Sussex 978-1-85864-265-9 Discussion paper / Institute of Development Studies Brighton viii-ix Subsequent analyses concluded that the famine conditions were largely human-induced, driven by deliberate military strategies and systematic obstruction of humanitarian relief.Key Considerations: Humanitarian responses to famine and war in Sudan https://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/articles/report/Key_Considerations_Humanitarian_Responses_to_Famine_and_War_in_Sudan/27282804?file=49936905 2026-05-22 opendocs.ids.ac.uk 10.19088/SSHAP.2024.055 A Human Rights Watch report described systematic war-related human rights abuses as the direct cause of the famine in Bahr el Ghazal, naming the Sudanese government, allied muraheleen militias, the SPLA and forces led by Kerubino Kuanyin Bol as responsible actors. It said the famine resulted from attacks on civilians, displacement, and the destruction or seizure of resources needed for survival, including cattle, grain, and land. The report also described the abduction of women and children by militias.Rone Jemera Famine in Sudan, 1998: the human rights causes 1999 https://www.hrw.org/reports/1999/sudan/ Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (Organization) 978-1-56432-193-0 New York, N.Y 3-4 International help Throughout the conflict, access to humanitarian aid was extremely limited. Despite the fact that Operation Lifeline Sudan was created to make international assistance distribution easier, they continued fighting and shifting frontlines, as well as administrative limitations imposed by conflict parties frequently caused aid operations to be delayed or blocked. The government of Omar al-Bashir often restricted international aid through official permit requirements, which delayed deliveries and restricted the assistance to the regions controlled by rebellion groups, exacerbating the scarcity in the Sudan.Reflections on Humanitarian Action: Principles, Ethics and Contradictions Pluto Press 2001 9780745317274 180-181 188-189 International humanitarian efforts, while extensive, were insufficient to fully offset the combined effects of conflict, displacement, and restricted access, leaving large populations in prolonged states of acute food insecurity. Effects June 2008 The effects on the region were enormous, with the excess mortality estimated at about 70,000 people.Famine in the Sudan: Causes, Preparedness and Response https://web.archive.org/web/20060224235452/http://www.ids.ac.uk/ids/bookshop/dp/dp369.pdf 2006-02-24 Luka Biong Deng, Institute of Development Studies, 1999, accessed August 29, 2006] Many more are thought to have been displaced, with over 72,000 people reported as migrating from the threatened rural zones to Wau alone from May 1998 to August 1998.Bahr El Ghazal and the Famine of 1998 Human Rights Watch, Accessed May 25, 2006] Health and nutrition surveys conducted in affected regions documented high levels of acute malnutrition, particularly among children, alongside increased vulnerability to disease due to deteriorating living conditions. Aftermath A ceasefire was signed on July 15, 1998, some eight months after the Sudanese government had first warned of a possible famine.1998: UN warns of famine in Sudan BBC Accessed May 25, 2006 After numerous extensions, this ceasefire lasted nearly a year, until April 1999. However, the Baggara militia continued to ignore the ceasefire, reducing the ability of aid agencies to help.Cease-fire Brought Relief Human Rights Watch, Accessed May 25, 2006 Thanks to a good crop and this ceasefire, however, the situation was brought under control by the end of 1998.Political Complications Boding Ill For Future Relief: The 1998 Famine in Bahr El Ghazal is Brought Under Control Human Rights Watch, Accessed May 25, 2006 However, the area has remained in trouble and a number of famine warnings have come since the end of 1998. See also Darfur conflict Food insecurity and famine in South Sudan 1988 Sudan famine 1993 Sudan famine Famine in Sudan (2024–present) References Category:1998 disasters in Africa Category:1998 in Sudan Category:20th-century disasters in Sudan Category:1990s famines 1998