UN and NGO sources now say from 1.7 million to 2 million people in Sudan are starving due to drought, flooding, and war. The worst-hit regions are northern part of Bar el-Ghazal province and western Upper Nile province. A WFP official Lyndsey Harker said that many people who fled the fighting are living in swampy land where the risk of malaria is very high. She said the problem was aggravated by the Sudanese government's refusal to allow aid planes to reach many areas.