The humanitarian crisis in Sudan continues to escalate, with new displacements reported in the Darfur and Kordofan regions, as well as in the Northern and River Nile states. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the situation remains highly volatile, particularly in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, despite a decrease in hostilities since late October.
In an update on Monday, OCHA noted that aid organizations still cannot reach civilians inside El Fasher, where a famine has been declared.
According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), more than 106,000 people have been displaced from the city and surrounding villages since late October. Nearly 80 percent of those displaced remain in rural villages west and north of the city without adequate support or safe passage for those wishing to travel onward.
According to local sources, civilians, including internally displaced persons (IDPs), are facing deadly armed robberies and cannot access essential services, such as healthcare, education, and clean water. Meanwhile, aid agencies have been unable to reach civilians inside El Fasher.
On October 26, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) captured El Fasher, ending a siege that lasted more than 500 days in the midst of reports of widespread atrocities, including summary executions and sexual violence.
In one major incident on October 28 alone, more than 460 patients and their companions were reportedly killed by RSF fighters when the Saudi Hospital in El Fasher was attacked after the city was taken over by the paramilitary group.
Meanwhile, fighting continues to displace large numbers of people in Sudan’s Kordofan region, particularly in South Kordofan State. Displaced families urgently need shelter, essential items, health services, and water, sanitation, and hygiene assistance.
At the same time, displacement from North Darfur State and the Kordofan region is exacerbating the situation in Northern and River Nile states, where OCHA has met with local officials and conducted assessments.
OCHA reports that, in Northern State alone, an estimated 7,000 people who have sought refuge there in recent weeks are scattered across rural Ad Dabah, with hundreds arriving daily. Although UN agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are providing primary healthcare, food assistance, safe water, and psychosocial support, funding shortages have left critical gaps, including in latrine coverage.
The humanitarian office urges all parties to guarantee safe and unhindered humanitarian access and to protect civilians, including aid workers, urgently. OCHA stresses that donor commitments are crucial to reaching those in the greatest need across Sudan, particularly local organizations and networks, which remain at the forefront of the response.
At a time when the need for humanitarian aid in Sudan is at its highest, the size of the funding gap is staggering. As of December 1, only 35 percent of the US$4.16 billion humanitarian response plan for this year has been funded, with $1.17 billion received thus far.
The world's largest humanitarian crisis
The situation in Sudan is the world's largest humanitarian crisis and one of its most severe. The conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF has driven unprecedented levels of displacement, hunger, violence, and suffering.
Due to an acute food security and nutrition crisis, disease outbreaks, and worsening climate shocks, more than 30 million people in Sudan require humanitarian assistance. According to the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report, over 19 million people are facing critical levels of food insecurity, with approximately 375,000 experiencing catastrophic conditions.
According to the Famine Review Committee (FRC), famines are occurring in El Fasher and Kadugli, a town in South Kordofan State — two areas largely cut off by conflict from commercial supplies and humanitarian assistance, where famine thresholds for food consumption, acute malnutrition, and mortality have been surpassed.
The FRC's latest report warns of the imminent risk of famine in an additional 20 areas of Sudan and states that conditions in the besieged town of Dilling, also in South Kordofan, are similar to those in Kadugli. However, the IPC cannot assess this area due to restricted humanitarian access and ongoing hostilities.
Fighting erupted in April 2023 between the SAF and the RSF when a transition to civilian rule broke down. This breakdown stemmed from the overthrow of longtime ruler Omar al-Bashir four years earlier. The ensuing heavy conflict has devastated communities, displaced millions, and exacerbated an already dire humanitarian crisis into a catastrophe.
Sudan, a nation rich in gold and oil, which is the main driver of the war and external interference, has become the site of the world's largest humanitarian, hunger, and displacement crisis. Out of a population of 47 million, approximately 15 million people have been displaced, including over 10 million internally displaced people.