A network of community kitchens in Sudan - a crucial lifeline for millions of people caught up in the civil war - is on the verge of collapse, a report says.
The warning from aid organisation Islamic Relief comes after a UN-backed global hunger monitor confirmed that famine conditions were spreading in conflict zones.
The locally run kitchens have operated in areas that are difficult for international humanitarian groups to access, but are facing closure due to neglect, shortages, and volunteer exhaustion.
Sudan's people have been brutalised by more than two years of war after fighting broke out between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
It has created what the UN has called the world's largest humanitarian crisis, with estimates that more than 24 million people are facing acute food shortages.
Most of the kitchens will close if nothing changes in six months, with maybe one or two surviving in each area, a volunteer is quoted by the Islamic Relief report as saying.
Financial fragility is the most pressing issue the kitchens face. They are now funded mainly by the Sudanese diaspora, after recent cuts in USAID funding.
Worsening operational challenges include bureaucratic delays and market disruptions caused by violence. The situation is particularly dire in besieged cities like el-Fasher in Darfur and Kadugli in South Kordofan, which are at risk of famine.
While some international agencies are offering assistance, the scale of need often exceeds available resources, resulting in severe rationing of food.
The community kitchens are seen as a model in addressing local crises, but as volunteers face increasing danger and burnout, the fear is that the system could collapse entirely without immediate support.
