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STORY: More than three quarters of a million people could face catastrophic food shortages in Sudan by September.

:: WFP

That's according to a preliminary projection used by United Nations agencies and aid groups to determine whether famine should be officially declared.

:: File

The preliminary results, as of June 1, represent a rapidly deteriorating situation in the war-torn country.

Since April last year the Sudanese army has been fighting the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

On Wednesday (June 12), WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said 12 million people have been displaced in what is the world's largest humanitarian crisis.

“People are dying from a lack of access to essential services and medicines, while there is a very real risk of mass starvation in some regions."

:: UNHCR

:: Um Sangour, Sudan

:: September 11, 2023

The latest projection, by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, or IPC, states that between June and September an estimated 756,000 people will be in Phase 5 catastrophe.

That means the country has not yet reached famine but is still considered a major crisis.

By comparison the last IPC projection, released in December, did not classify anyone as being in a catastrophic situation.

The latest projection is preliminary and could change.

It would also require approval by Sudan's military-run government as well as U.N. and international agencies.

:: Omdurman, Sudan

:: April 7, 2024

Whether a famine could be declared is unclear.

In areas formally designated as Phase 5 famine, more than two people per 10,000 are dying daily, among other criteria.

Governments sometimes challenge famine data and projections and Sudan's government has previously denied that the country is experiencing famine.

:: March 11, 2024

However the U.S. special envoy to Sudan said last week that some parts of the country are already there.

"The question", Tom Perriello said, "is how much famine, how much of the country and for how long".