Last week famine was officially declared in the Darfur region of Sudan. Since April of last year, civil war has wrecked the country resulting in the displacement of over eight million people and bringing nearly 750,000 Sudanese to the brink of starvation and death.

Despite the horrifying statistics, the crisis in Sudan has gone largely unnoticed by the international aid community. Alan Boswell, Project Director of the Horn of Africa for the International Crisis Group, discusses with Alliance Digital Editor Charlotte Kilpatrick the urgency of getting aid relief to Sudan.

Charlotte Kilpatrick: From what you’ve heard, how dire is the situation in Sudan right now compared to how it has been?

Alan Boswell: Sudan is a complete catastrophe on a humanitarian level as well as a political and security level. Many thousands of Sudanese are starving. There has been no official famine declaration yet, but people have been waiting for it to come at any point. I’d say the most pressing issue at the moment is that a million Sudanese might be on the brink of starvation.