The UN's World Food Programme (WFP) has a new catchphrase in Sudan: 'We're giving you less, but please share it.' In El Obeid, where over 100,000 displaced people are crammed into camps after 18 months of siege and drone strikes, WFP Sudan Country Director Abdallah Alwardat told journalists from Kosti that even reduced rations are being split between families who have no other income. 'We are providing even not the full food ration to the people, but even that reduced food ration is being shared by the recipients with other families,' he said, painting a picture of desperate generosity.

WFP has been feeding about 100,000 people in these camps, but Alwardat admitted many more need urgent help. The agency also supports 17,000 children with nutrition aid. One elderly woman he met was entirely dependent on WFP rations - and then faced the logistical nightmare of hauling her food back to her tent, hoping to split a tuk-tuk fare with other families. 'She was just thinking how to carry the food back to her tent,' Alwardat recalled.

It's been over three years since Sudan's rival militaries - the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) - plunged the country into war after the collapse of its civilian transition. Over 14 million people have been displaced, making this the world's largest displacement crisis. Nearly 20 million Sudanese are acutely food insecure, with WFP reaching only 3-5 million of the most vulnerable. 'We want to do more, for sure. But of course, we are also stretched on our resources,' Alwardat said. 'Resources are limiting us.'

On the drive from Kosti to El Obeid - some 350-400 km - Alwardat saw no military operations, but few commercial trucks or supplies heading toward the city where food, water, and fuel are scarce. WFP's mission helped ease fuel shortages that had blocked aid deliveries. 'As long as we have the necessary financial support, I think we have the means and the capacity to sustain that lifeline,' he insisted. They've pre-positioned food for the next two months and started July distributions, ready for August - if the money holds out.