GENEVA, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said on Friday that Jan. 9 marked 1,000 days since the outbreak of the conflict in Sudan, warning that the scale of suffering was staggering, with more than 21 million people currently estimated to be acutely food insecure.

Laerke said here at a regular press briefing that nearly 34 million people in Sudan now require humanitarian assistance, while the entire region continues to suffer from the spillover of the crisis.

He stressed that Sudan is facing the largest displacement crisis in the world. "9.3 million people are uprooted inside the country and more than 4.3 million have fled across borders, placing immense strain on neighbouring countries," he said.

According to OCHA, famine has been confirmed in El Fasher and Kadugli, and at least 20 other areas remain at risk. "More than 21 million people are currently estimated to be acutely food insecure across the country," Laerke said.

Women and girls are bearing the heaviest burden of the crisis, he added. "Female-headed households are now three times more likely to be food insecure -- three-quarters of these households report not having enough to eat," he said, noting that hunger is becoming increasingly gendered.

Laerke said that the United Nations is urging real steps toward a lasting peace, as well as for strict adherence to international humanitarian law. ■